undead equestria
by Dtigerx22
Summary: the original copy is on by sorren i just liked it so i'm placing it here for you to read. enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

this is not my story i'm just placing it here as it comes. the original is on and is by sorren. so please enjoy.

chapter 1

The two or so thousand ponies that lived in the town of Desert Sage were going around their everyday business. It was what many would consider a beautiful day, but beautiful days were quite uncommon, so the townsponies were making what they could of it. Without the usual clouds and almost-constant winds across the flattened landscape, things were looking pretty great. Wagons rattled in the streets and foals played out in their front yards while parents sat back, enjoying the weekend for what it was worth. A small group of pegasi ponies flew overhead, lazily pushing the nearest cloud away from the sun.  
It was just like any other town.  
An orange, black-maned pegasus glanced up from the bench he was sitting at and sighed inwardly, pushing to his hooves. With a shake of his mane, he set off at a light trot along the road. Wagons bounced back and forth between buildings on the hard-packed earth as he walked, the ponies pulling them greeting one another cheerfully, maybe even a little too cheerfully.

After a while of wandering without much thought, the orange pegasus came to a small crossroads and stood to wait beside a yellow stallion, his black mane quite similar to Sunny's.  
"Morning, Sunny," the stallion mumbled as the pegasus walked up to wait beside him.  
"Morning, Notebook." Sunny smiled halfheartedly at him. "How're things?" A quick glance over the pony said a lot, and one of those things was that Sunny probably shouldn't have been standing beside him for fear of catching something.  
Notebook dropped his head and sighed. "Not so good; I feel like somepony just hit me with a shovel."  
Sunny silently agreed, quirking a brow; the pony didn't look too good at all—his eyes were sunken and bloodshot and his coat was ruffled up and sticky-looking. "What'd you do, rub your coat in petroleum jelly?  
Notebook ignored the quip on his appearance. "I haven't been able to eat for a day... it all just comes back up. I picked this crap up from Canterlot, I know," he grumbled. "Ponies are always sick there. The place was a big petri dish by the time I left. Feel bad for leaving my mother back in that horrid place."  
The traffic ceased and the two stallions set across the street. "Well I'm sorry to hear that," Sunny said genuinely. "What were you doing in Canterlot? That's halfway across Equestria."  
"Mother," he mumbled, shoulders drooping. "Well... see you later Sunny." With a shake of his head, he set off towards the park without a backwards glance.  
"Will do?" Sunny watched the stallion go with a little frown and a cocked head. He'd known Notebook for... years. Notebook was being very... not Notebook.  
Throwing the stallion and his odd attitude out of his mind, Sunny wracked his brain for something that could prove even mildly entertaining. It never made any sense to him; he would work all week for a few a shiny stack of bits with expectations of the weekend, only to reach the end of the workweek and find that the weekends themselves were just as dull, the only difference was he wasn't making money. Sitting back and being bored was what being a cashier at a local choke n' puke for.  
A thought struck him, a rather primal one. 'Muffins!' That's what he needed, a nice big case of delicious blueberry muffins. By far, the blueberries made the muffin, and considering there was nothing better to do today other than gorge on snack food, it was the most perfect idea Sunny had had all day.

The walk to the store didn't prove to be a long one; small towns had their benefits. And in no time at all, he was pushing through the storefront door to the airlock room of the grocer. The air conditioning ruffled his mane as he left the tiled room and entered the actual store, the cool air soothing on his coat after the midday heat. The store was packed with ponies trotting around on their daily business: old ponies, mothers with foals, ponies on lunch break, and just about everything else. Of course the store was packed—after all, it was a Saturday afternoon.  
Two young colts galloped by, laughing with delight as one chased the other. The two flew right by Sunny and crashed into an old earth pony, almost knocking him over and causing him to drop his basket.  
"Hey you kids!" the earth pony snapped, fire in his eyes. "You watch where you're going!"  
"S-sorry mister," stammered one of the colts before hastily sprinting down another aisle.  
"Hey! wait for me!" called the other, following his friend out of sight.  
"Kids," the stallion muttered to himself, picking up his basket and heading off towards the checkout line. "Beat 'em, every one of 'em."  
Sunny's attention was drawn away from the old stallion by a pink mare carrying a box of 'Granny's Homemade Muffins.' He knew exactly where they were—aisle four, section three, middle shelf. He rounded the corner to aisle four and nearly galloped to section three in a foalish delight that would have proved rather embarrassing had there been anypony around to see. Silently, he pleaded for at least one box to be left; they always sold fast. To his immense pleasure, there proved to be one remaining box. Sighing happily, Sunny allowed his pace to slow. The box was there; everything was going to be alright.  
Looking back down the aisle, it was quite a surprise to see another pony. Sunny shared a look with the blue mare directly across from him, his green eyes darting to the last remaining box, then back to her.

She looked at the only box on the shelf, then to Sunny. He looked at her, then the box, then back to her. Worst of all, she was smiling.  
Without warning, the mare reared up and set off at a gallop down the aisle. Sunny took this as an immediate threat. Obviously, she was after the box, and he had gotten in grocery store fights with ponies on the Sunday bash before—it was always easiest if you grabbed the box and ran before they could catch you. Nonetheless, old mares knew how to swing a cane harder than one would think.  
Sunny jerked forward, hooves fighting for grip on the linoleum tile. She may have started first, but he was closer. Hooves thundering, he scooped the box up by the handle as he passed and turned a triumphant look on the mare... who was still running right at him. At full gallop, the two collided in a tangle of limbs. Crying out in surprise, Sunny lost his grip on the box as the two of them crashed to the floor. Desperate to break contact with the mare, he scrambled away, flesh itching unpleasantly from the contact.  
He picked his head up from the ground and gazed at the mare lying next to him. Her blue eyes stared back at him, dark brown mane obscuring half her face. She cracked a little smile and tried to clamber to her hooves, but Sunny was already on top of it. He pushed himself upright and beat his wings, propelling himself to his hooves and forward. With a leap, he dived for the box. His hooves were only an inch away when the loot was enveloped in a blue haze. Sunny made a desperate grab for the handle as the box shot right under him, though the effort only threw off his balance. Missing his target completely, he went sprawling on his face.  
Head throbbing, Sunny rolled to his hooves, irritation prickling up and down his spine. "Hey! No fair!" he pouted, flipping around to face the mare. She stood there, the box levitating beside her, a cheeky smile adorning her face.  
This wasn't going to end well.  
She must have caught the look in his eye, because the mare turned tail and hoofed it for the other end of the aisle. Sunny took off after her, hoping that he once again had speed on his side.  
The mare made a hard left where the aisles merged and skidded around the corner, hooves skittering for traction on the polished floor. A second later, Sunny reached the corner, and instead of sliding to slow himself down, he jumped into it. Leaning hard, he unfurled his wings and gave them one hard flap, smoothly shooting the corner and propelling himself forward. He beat his wings a second time and lifted himself up into the air, gaining some ground on her. A slight pain in his spine told him he was pushing his abilities, but one more flap got him above the fleeing unicorn. With one swift movement, he drew his wings to his side and dropped clean onto the blue mare's back, ignoring the uncomfortable burning sensation in that surged through his body as their coats touched; sometimes, muffins were more important than phobias.  
Not expecting the sudden weight, the mare staggered and tripped, sending them both rolling into a pyramid of stacked cans.  
Ponies dodged with indignant yells and surprised cries as asparagus landslide bore down on them, tossing a stray can or two every which way. Sunny pinched his eyes shut as the metallic rocks rained down onto him. Dazed, he opened his eyes to see a happy asparagus smiling at him from a can label.  
After a moment, he pushed himself up out of the sea of cans with a clatter and looked around. Ponies stood in a circle around him, scowling and muttering to each other. The box of muffins lay on its side a ways away against a vegetable stand, thankfully un-crushed.  
There was another clatter and a blue head pushed itself out of the pile beside his own. The unicorn looked around for a second before digging herself out, scattering more cans across the tile.  
"Truce?" she panted, laughing a little as she looked at Sunny. "Didn't... didn't expect you to... fight for it."

"Truce," Sunny gasped, rubbing his brow where a can had struck him.  
The mare looked around and let out a small chuckle, which quickly turned to racking laughter. Sunny couldn't help but join in, not even knowing why he was supposed to be laughing—she was laughing, so it must have been funny.

"Dang it!" A tan earth pony stomped his way across the store towards the asparagus catastrophe, straightening his red vest with the greatest authority he could muster. "I just stacked all them cans!"

The blue mare quelled her laughter and brought her muzzle to Sunny's ear. "Run."

The two ponies scrambled out of the pile and galloped away towards the front of the story. Sunny skidded to a halt, stepping on a can and nearly falling. Remembering the muffins, he ran over to the shelf they had fallen against and scooped them up. Putting on an extra burst of speed, he went to catch up with the blue mare before the store employee blundering along behind them could catch him and stack of an asparagus jail to keep him in. The stallion stopped at the pile of scattered cans and let out an angry bellow at Sunny's fleeing form, though didn't pursue any further.  
Sunny and the mare cut in front of a shopping couple who'd been waiting to buy a whole cartload of groceries. The blue mare smiled her best smile at that, and that seemed to work for reasons unknown to Sunny.  
Sunny tossed the box up onto the counter and produced four bits. "I have money."

"No, I insist," the blue mare protested.

"Too late," he said bluntly as the pony at the register took his bits with a bored expression and pushed the box back across the counter. Sunny took the case of muffins by the handle and headed for the door. The mare followed him. Sunny knew what she wanted; maybe if he ignored her she wouldn't ask.

The two left the store and many prying eyes behind. Now with a box of perfectly delicious muffins, Sunny chose to head for the park. There was no better place to eat muffins but in the park, and every reasonable pony knew this.

His fellow grocery store escapee trotted along beside him. "Normally, a stallion tells a mare his name before he tackles her into a pile of cans," she chided, driving a knee into his side just behind his front leg.  
Right in the most sensitive spot. He winced and shied away.

"Fhummy," he mumbled around the handle in his mouth. She rolled her eyes and levitated the box away from him. "Sunny," he repeated for her. "Sunny Skies."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Sunny Skies." She smiled and levitated the box down onto her back. "I'm Blue Moon, but the 'Blue' part is sort of redundant so just call me Moon."  
"Mother much of a Luna fan was she?"  
The mare drove her knee into the same spot on his side. "Shut up. I swear, if I hear one more pony say I'm trying to copy Luna..." Shaking her head, she chuckled. "Call me Moon, please."

Sunny was rather taken aback by her friendliness. He normally never talked to ponies outside of work, mares even less. He had spoken to a psychologist once: the bifocaled pony's diagnosis had been 'socially awkward'. Apparently, since his parents had been so protective of him, somehow they had managed to twist a screw loose in his brain, and it just so happened to be that that particular screw held together his ability to interact with ponies in a normal manner. Or at least... that's what the psychologist had said.  
"So are you new in town?" he asked; it was the best he could think of.

"Sort of." She looked over at him, a little grin still on her face. "Moved here from Fillydelphia about a month or so ago—nice little town."

"Little?" He shot the mare a look.

"Okay fine, city... big city." She blew air out her nose. "I'd had enough. I was tired of stepping outside and having to walk across pony's backs just to get to the store."

"Yeah well, this is a nice little town... mostly" Sunny remained quiet, not daring to throw glances at Moon for fear she would see him throwing glances and imply something. Yet, despite his dismissive attitude, she continued to walk confidently beside him as if they were good friends on their daily walk.

"So are all of these muffins for me?" she teased, levitating to box in front of her again.  
"Hey! I bought it," he protested, realizing with sudden horror that she had the box in her possession.

"I might let you have one," she teased. "Now stop whining and let's find a place to sit." She pranced ahead and towards the metal arch to the park.  
Sunny eyed her curiously as he followed. She was a pony... she was a mare, and she was purposefully going out of her way to get to know him.  
He shrugged. "Every day is a new day."  
And she had his muffins...

* * *

Sunny popped another muffin into his mouth as he lay on his back in the shade of an oak tree. He loved watching the clouds as they drifted across the sky.

"Sunsets are always so beautiful here, aren't they Sunny?" The blue mare lay next to him gazing up as well. A half-eaten muffin rested beside her.

"Mhmf," came Sunny's muffled reply around a mouthful of muffin. Quickly, he finished chewing and swallowed. "Yeah." His gaze drifted to the golden clouds on the horizon. "I guess I always just took them for granted." The two lay quiet for a minute. Sunny reached for the box to take another muffin.

"Hey Sunny?" Moon murmured.

"Yeah?" The clouds had now turned a pink golden color.

"What's it like up there?" Moon was gazing up at the clouds as well, a little smile on her face.

"Up where?"

Moon laughed and nudged him with a hoof. "You know." She raised a hoof towards the sky and closed one eye. "Up there, in the sky. What's it like to fly up there in the clouds? You know, without a skywagon or a balloon something? I've never actually asked a pegasus before."

"I couldn't really tell you." He rolled over onto his side to look at her.

"What?" She turned her head to him, looking puzzled. "But you're a pegasus. How can you not know?"

Sunny sighed. "It's kind of a long story."

"Well, go on," she pressed. "I'm not in any hurry."  
She had asked the question. He hated answering the question. It was usually something he only told ponies he knew well once in a blue moon, not random mares. Nonetheless, he found himself thinking of how to put it best.

"Okay then..." Sunny tried to smile as Moon rolled towards him to listen. "When I was a foal, I couldn't fly like all the other fillies and colts my age. Well, actually I couldn't fly at all, and for a pegasus that can't fly at all, living in the clouds seemed just a bit dangerous."  
Moon pulled another muffin from the box as he spoke.  
"So when I was still young, my parents moved from their home on the outskirts of Cloudsdale to here. They always wanted to do what was best for me. They hauled me around to every doctor and specialist they could afford, but all of them said the same thing and turned me down. Said there was some sort of abnormality or disease in the muscles that supported my wings, a sort of birth defect, or some sciencey thing like that. Something to do with tendons too... But for some reason, only my wings. Most of them said I was lucky I could even walk. After a while I got used to the condition. It wasn't that bad. After some work I was able to learn to fly short distances, but no more than a couple hundred yards at a time, and that's pushing it."  
He let out a long sigh and gazed up at the sky. Sunny turned and look back at Moon. Her eyes shone sadly back at him.

"I'm so sorry, Sunny. I'm sorry I asked. That subject must be hard."

"It's fine," he said flatly  
Moon looked away and gazed back up at the sky. "It must be so hard for you though."

Sunny sighed again. Pity... she was showing him pity, the worst of all emotions to be felt in anyone's general direction. "No, not really." She didn't realize just how teasing her sympathy was. "You see, I was never actually able to fly, so I don't really know how it feels, which means I don't miss flying because I never have... If that makes any sense."

Moon only smiled at him. "You're a nice stallion, Sunny."

A little taken aback by the compliment, he hastily reached over and popped a muffin into his mouth to avoid having to reply. He was not expecting Moon to shift and lay her head down in the crook of his belly. Sunny's eyes shot open and he nearly gagged on the muffin. Moon sighed, closing her eyes against the sun.

He tensed and Moon lifted her head. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he muttered hastily, blushing. "It's just that I don't like ponies touching me... not really... at all. And you're the first mare to... you know..." He rubbed the tip of his hoof against his face, going beet red.

"Really?" She cocked an eyebrow.  
"No joke." Sunny didn't think it was possible to feel more awkward. His face burned as he scooted a little bit away from her. "It's uh... it's haphephobia, they said."

"Wow." Moon looked thoughtful for a second, then gave a little shrug and nuzzled her head back into his belly, driving another shudder up his spine. She closed her eyes again. "It's so nice and quiet here; I like small towns."

Sunny lay there, fighting the urge to push the mare away, instead watching the golden sun sink behind the horizon. A half eaten box of muffins sat next to the two. He could feel the warmth of the mare pressed against his flank. Sunny closed his eyes with a gentle sigh, somehow managing to overcome burning irritation of the mare touching his flank. He wasn't quite sure what this day had amounted to, but it was certainly something different. Soon, despite the uncomfortableness of the mare resting against him, he drifted off.

Sunny opened his eyes to darkness and it took him a minute to remember where he was. Although, he was aware of the unicorn mare curled up in the crook of his body, sheltered from the cool night air. Sunny closed his eyes against the night, trying to remember what had woken him.  
A low moan emanated from somewhere in the darkness and Sunny's ears shot straight up. Chances were it had been that.

Slowly, he rolled over and pulled himself free from Moon's grasp. She let out a little groan and curled herself into a ball, shivering slightly. Sunny could hear breathing, not just his own and Moon's, but another, third source from somewhere out in the darkness... a raspy, sickly breathing.

"Hello?" he called softly, eyes straining to see in the feeble moonlight.  
There was no response. "Hello?" he called a little louder. Sunny cautiously crested a small hill twenty or so feet away from the tree in the direction of the sound. A shadowy lump rolled over as Sunny neared The pegasus frowned at the other pony. Either he was drunk or baeten... or both. More cautiously, he paced a little closer to the dark shape, recognition dawning on his face.  
"Notebook?" he asked in shocked confusion upon seeing the pony's face. The stallion lifted its head and laid a sickly gaze on Sunny. "Are you okay?" Sunny asked worriedly.

"No," he groaned, wincing.

"Moon!" Sunny called back behind him. Notebook's condition seemed to have escalated tenfold since earlier today. Sunny was no doctor, but he was pretty sure eyes shouldn't bleed.

The mare appeared beside him, seeming to almost blend out of the darkness. "What is it?" She looked down at the sickly stallion. "Oh my."

"Go get help."

"I don't know, this looks really bad. His coat's damp and... no," she said in a foreboding tone.

"What?" Sunny was feeling nervous now.

"His eyes are bleeding." She gestured a hoof to the pony, who was now hacking on something from in his throat, small streams of foam bubbling from his muzzle.

"Well we need to go get help," Sunny stated. "I'll stay with him. Go find somepony to help."

"It's the middle of the night!"

"So go bang on somepony's door or something. He isn't looking good."

Moon nodded and blended off into the darkness, making for a distant street lamp.  
Sunny had to confirm his suspicions by throwing another glance at Notebook. The stallion looked really bad. He was losing small patches of hair that shed off in the long grass and the flesh beneath his coat was veiny and pale.  
"Just hang in there, buddy," Sunny murmured, patting Notebook's side with a forehoof. That had been a mistake. Notebook's flank was soaking with perspiration, hot and sticky. Gasping, Sunny yanked his hoof away and dragged it across the grass a few times. Okay, no touching.

"Notebook, what happened?"

The pony's throat rattled as he spoke. "Don't know... just got really sick."

"You're a little more than sick, my friend," Sunny half-chuckled.

"You think!?" A series of short spasms wracked his body. Slowly, they subsided, leaving the two sit in silence. The only sound to be heard was the heavy breathing of Notebook. Sunny guessed that, by the time he was able to hear the approaching ponies, about ten minutes had passed. He pricked his ears as the sound of voices and hoofsteps drew closer.

"Over here!" he called to the darkness. A moment later, four ponies appeared through the black screen. There were two ponies in medical barding and another wearing a utility harness who was brandishing a flashlight. Moon was a little ways behind them, quite content with glaring at the back of a white unicorn mare's head. The mare in question levitated a doctor's bag next to her. Her scarlet mane was tied back and hung over her left flank.  
She set the bag down next to Notebook and immediately went to work, seemingly oblivious to Moon's unapproving glare.

"Well, what does it sound like to you?" Moon insisted.

"I don't know yet!" the white mare snapped back. "Let me look at him first!"

The mare nodded towards the large stallion with the flashlight "Brick, light." The stallion obeyed, turning the amber beam on Notebook.  
Sunny caught a glimpse of the buck's face and backpedaled, nearly tripping on his own tail. Blood ran from his tear ducts and his eyes shone like empty windows; the pupils had grown so large that they threatened to consume the entire iris. The whites were deep pink and bloodshot, and a thin trickle of white foam ran from his mouth.

The mare gave a quick flick of her tail and flashlight pony set down his light and pulled a collapsible stretcher from his back. In two quick movements, he had it unfolded and on the ground next to Notebook. The three ponies approached the sick buck and gently rolled him onto the stretcher.

The stallion earth pony wearing medical barding reared back in disgust after they had finished pushing the stallion onto the vinyl frame. "Did you feel his coat?" he gasped, examining his forehooves.

Sunny and Moon sat back and watched as the ponies prepared to lift Notebook. They were about ready when the stallion rolled off the stretcher and jerked into series of violent spasms.

"Hold him down," the white mare groaned, throwing her hooves up in the air as she glared at the writhing pony. The other two sprang into action, attempting to get a hold on the slippery stallion as the mare levitated a syringe from her bag. With a roll of her eyes, she jabbed it into Notebook's neck and took a step back. The stallion let out a strangled scream and reared his head back, biting into the foreleg of the stallion in medical barding.  
"Gah!" The buck reared back and fell on his rump, attempting to pull his forehoof free from the stallion's gnashing teeth. He swung his free forehoof at notebook, but the white mare's magic intervened and held it still as another bit of focused mana yanked Notebook's jaw open.  
"Sweet Celestia he bit me!" The stallion held his hoof firmly in the other as he glared at Notebook, who was now starting to go limp. "What in the name of Luna is wrong with ponies!?"  
The brown earth pony ran back around the stretcher to retrieve his shone it at the stallion's foreleg. There was a good sized mark where the skin had torn, blood oozing from the many little teeth marks.  
"Better get that taken care of," the white mare scoffed, flicking her tail.  
"What am I supposed to take care of it with!?" he snapped. "A stick and a piece of string!? Most of the equipment is back at the wagon..." He trailed off, examining the wound. "Have you ever seen a pony do that before?" he muttered, rubbing his leg and turning to look at the pony next to him. Flashlight pony shook his head. "I hope whatever he has isn't contagious."  
The hospital mare glared at the two ponies. "Hurry up and find a way to clean that so you can help me carry this thing." With some effort, she levitated Notebook back onto the stretcher as the bitten stallion turned and started rummaging in his bags.  
"I'll help," Sunny offered on a whim. Notebook was his friend, afterall. The mare looked at him and nodded. Flashlight pony took one end and Sunny took the other; the mare walked beside the stretcher to help balance it. Bitten pony hobbled behind the trio as Moon led the way, levitating the flashlight beside her.  
The wounded pony hobbled up beside them. "Celestia damn it, I hope I don't catch whatever that stallion had. I know he had something. I know it. Celestia damn me if its rabies or something."  
Moon glanced behind her. "Well whatever he had, chances are it's already in your blood."  
"I know!" He swore at the ground. "I passed medical school, you know. The most I can do now is peroxide."  
After a short while, they neared the road. A covered wagon sat off to one side of the street, a red cross painted upon the canopy. When they reached it, Sunny and flashlight pony slid the stretcher into the back of the wagon. Flashlight pony snatched his flashlight back and crossed around to the front of the wagon to slide into the harness as the other two climbed up in the back.  
"Hey, thanks for the help!" called the mare as the wagon pulled away  
"Don't mention it!" Sunny called back. "...Take care of him, please."  
Both he and Moon sat on the roadside, watching as the wagon drew further away, until it rounded a bend out of sight. "Well that was a little strange," Sunny finally muttered, breaking the silence.  
"You're telling me," Moon replied. "I haven't ever seen anything like that happen to a pony before."  
Sunny frowned. "So what were you and that mare arguing about when you walked up?"  
She shot him a puzzled look, then her eyes widened. "Oh that. We we're arguing over symptoms and causes. You see, I worked in a clinic ever since I was a little more than a foal; my parents specialized in medical treatment."  
"So you're a doctor?" Sunny asked.  
"Well close... Pediatrician," The mare folder her ears back and blushed. "Hardly even that."  
Sunny caught the movement. "Hey now. What's so embarrassing about being a pediatrician?"  
"Well... I was never really good at it."  
"Oh." Sunny cocked his head to the side. "Well that's too bad... I guess?"  
Moon only shrugged. "Want to walk me home Sunny?" She didn't smile when she asked, but just cocked her head and gave him a curious look.  
The sudden change of topic threw him off guard, but he recovered quickly enough, covering the mental stumble with a small cough. "Sure." Sunny gave a little beat of his wings and tried not to act too excited. There was a certain tone in her voice that he was pretty sure he had caught.  
"Come on." She chuckled, and started off down the walkway. The two walked for a little while in silence. Sunny shivered as the cool night breeze cut through his coat.  
"Hey Sunny?" Moon asked, breaking the silence after a moment or two and turning her head to look at him. She pushed her long brown mane away from her face with a forehoof, blue eyes clouded with worry.  
"Yeah?" Sunny turned to her and realized he had never really seen her cutie mark. Sure he had known it was there or skimmed over it, but he had never really looked at it. Her cutie mark was of a crescent moon. The thick sliver of white was surrounded by little stars here and there and a big poofy cloud covered one tip of the crescent.  
"Do you think that stallion is going to be okay?" she asked.  
He sighed. "If you mean Notebook, then I'm not sure. I met him a few times before and he seemed like a nice pony. I just find it hard to imagine anything like that happening to him, or anypony really."  
"What I don't get, though, is what exactly was wrong with him. None of those symptoms made any sense. Ponies' eyes shouldn't bleed—that normally only happens in cases of blunt head trauma."  
"Yeah," Sunny muttered, eyes fixed on his hooves as they walked on in silence once again.  
A few more minutes passed before Moon stopped. "This is it."  
In front of them was a small house, no more than a two bedroom.  
She turned and walked up the narrow pathway to the front door and Sunny followed a little ways behind, unsure of exactly how far 'walking her home' exceeded. Lucky, his question was answered as she stopped at the door and turned to face him. "Today was really fun." She smiled to him. "You know, besides the whole Notebook thing."  
"Yeah." Sunny returned the smile. "First time falling asleep in the park under an oak tree with a mare I've only just met." A sudden thought struck his mind and he gasped.  
"What is it?" Moon tensed.  
"I left my muffins in the park!" Sunny mentally hit himself—he had forgotten the muffins of all things.  
"Oh you!" she laughed, waving a hoof at him.  
"I'm serious! I have to go get them!"  
Moon just smiled at him and rolled her eyes. "Tell you what. I have something I need to do tomorrow morning, but stop by after lunch and we can go see if they're still there."  
Sunny thought about it for a second. "But they then they will probably be…" He trailed off when Moon began to snicker. "Hey, what!?"  
She laughed and brought her hoof to her face. "You are hilarious."  
"What?" It was times like this he often wished he had some sort f... mare decrypter thingy. Nonetheless, the meaning of her words slapped him across the face like a wet towel after a little bit of thought. "Oh!" He blushed. "Oh! Sure!" He gave a little flap of his wings.  
"Okay then." She grinned "See you tomorrow?"  
"Definitely!"  
Moon opened the door and stepped inside. "Bye."  
"Bye."  
Sunny almost squealed when the door closed, and he pranced in a little circle. He walked back down the path to the street and started off towards his apartment at a trot. This was something new.  
His belly was a churning pit of worry and tension, but he was excited nonetheless. The idea that he had a chance to get to know a nice pony, a mare even, was a rather pleasant one.

Sunny walked beside Moon as they left the park. The whole day had gone perfectly. He had met with her an hour or so after lunch, both of them heading off to the park. Sunny made sure to check and see if his muffins were there. (They weren't.) He had even run around the tree a few times to see if somepony had hidden the box. Moon had laughed at him and said he was crazy, again. The two had spent the rest of the afternoon lying around and sharing stories, little things—all those random things like childhood memories or embarrassing things they had done in the past.  
Overall, the day had been something entirely new to Sunny. Conversations to him usually related to work and work alone. He'd never really stopped before to talk about himself.  
"So what do you want to do now?" Moon nudged him and they set off away from the park. Ponies bustled by in the street as the two walked through town.  
Sunny frowned "I don't know... there really isn't much to do in a small town."  
Moon glanced around at the few shops and stores. "Well there has to be something," she pouted.  
Sunny didn't catch the last part. His eyes were trained on two ponies on the other side of the street. A white unicorn mare with a scarlet mane was setting a swift trot and a large, brown earth pony stallion followed close behind. Sunny stopped and Moon shot him a look. He raised a hoof and pointed it at the two ponies across the street.  
Moon's eyes widened. "Is that them?"  
"Yep." He recognized them as their friends from last night. Moon gave Sunny a little glance before dashing off across the street. "Hey! Wait up!" Sunny took off after her, meeting her on the other side to intercept the two hospital ponies. The hospital ponies pushed through a throng of mares crowded around a store front and nearly crashed into Sunny.  
"What's going on?" Moon demanded barring their way. "Both of you look like something bad has happened. I can see it in your eyes."  
The hospital mare glared at Moon and opened her mouth for a sharp retort, but she stopped when she realized who it was. The mare dropped her head and drew back her ears before glancing back at the mares they had pushed through, all of which were glaring irritably. "Not here," she whispered, gesturing behind her. "Follow me." The white mare took off again, leaving Sunny and Moon no choice but to gallop after her and the stallion.

"What do you think this is all about?" Sunny asked Moon as they trotted after the hospital ponies, dodging between shoppers and ponies out on afternoon walks. The two ahead of them rounded a corner into a small alley between two stores. Sunny and Moon followed a moment later and they finally stopped in the back of the alley, bathed in semi-darkness.

"Now, will you tell us just what the hay is going on?" Sunny stomped a hoof, more or less taking Moon's approach.

The white unicorn mare glanced around to make sure they were alone. "We lost Notebook."

"You what!?" Sunny could understand why Notebook would have died, but he never expected it to really happen. "How did you lose him?"

The white mare folded her ears. "Keep it down we can't let this get out." She sighed and looked up at the two. Non-flashlight pony stood behind her looking impartial. "We don't know how we lost him."

Moon broke in. "How do you just not know how a pony dies if he's still alive when you get him?"

The hospital mare looked put out. "No, you don't understand. We lost him, about an hour ago. He's gone. He literally isn't there anymore."

"Oh well that can't be all bad," Sunny tried to add, but hastily shut up when both mares glared at him. He shot a look to the mare's assistant, who just shrugged.

Moon looked nervous. "This is bad, isn't it?"

The mare nodded solemnly. "About two hours after the encounter, Sugar Apple got extremely sick, even after cleaning the wound. Nothing we gave him worked. The infection fought whatever we tried and absorbed magic like nothing I've ever seen before. At about eight hours, he started showing all the same symptoms as Notebook. Bleeding from the eyes, pupil dilation, minor hair loss, a dangerous increase in temperature, and an extreme case of aggression." The mare hesitated. "About an hour after that, he tore free of his bindings and bit me." She nodded to the brown stallion beside her. He leaned over and pulled back her staff barding to reveal a small mark on her back where a strip of flesh had been torn away. The skin around it had since turned black, almost as if the mare had tried to cauterize it.

Moon gasped and Sunny stepped forward. "So uh…" he tried to layer on casually "So when Notebook bit Sugar Apple, he ended up like Notebook. So…

Moon cut in. "How long ago did this happen?"

The white mare gave the stallion a flick of her tail and he went back to his normal stance. "About seven hours ago."

"Wait? Then why aren't you showing?" Moon cocked her head to the side.

"Yeah about that." The white mare gave a little smile. "I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen to me. As soon as I could, I washed the entire wound in an iodine concentrate. After that, I directly injected the wound with three times the highest prescribed dosage of penicillin, not recommended… and about twenty milliliters of formalin."

"What?" Moon balked. "You injected yourself with formalin? How are you not dead!?"  
The mare stomped "I don't know! It should have killed me! But it was better than ending up like Sugar Apple! I watched as the infection spread from the wound! The flesh appeared to rot at a rapid rate around the infected area. I think that's part of how the virus spreads. I figured if I found a way to stop the rot it might stop the infection. So far it appears to have worked. This may be a breakthrough. I doubt it works after long time exposure, but if it can be applied immediately, it slows, maybe even stops the virus before it can spread."

Sunny's head spun as the two mares argued. Moon stared into the white mares eyes. "But what if it doesn't?"

The white mare turned towards her brown assistant and nodded. Slowly the stallion reached his head around and pulled a pistol from his saddlebag by the bit before he dropped it back in again.  
Moon gave a tiny nod.

"I need to call in ponies who are more suited for this. Maybe from Canterlot." The white mare hung her head. "This is way out of my hooves." Perking up, she held out a hoof to Moon. "I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Willow."

"Blue Moon," she replied, taking Willow's hoof

"And this is Brick." Willow gestured to the stallion beside her, whom Sunny had recently known as flashlight pony.

Moon raised her hoof to Brick. "Nice to meet you." Brick met her hoof with his and nodded.

Sunny felt left out of the whole introduction thing. "Um, Hi. I'm Sunny."

"Nice to meet you too Sunny." Willow bowed her head. Brick nodded again.

"So," Moon but in. "You can call in those Canterlot ponies, and they can pull in and experiment with Sugar Apple. Right?"

Willow seemed to shrink. "We don't have Sugar Apple… He um… escaped... Both of them escaped."

Sunny was surprised Moon didn't stomp on Willow right then. "What!?"

"They may be crazy but they can still run really fast." Willow was crumbling under Moon's angry glare.

"We have to find them!" Moon turned and set off, back towards the street, leaving Willow to silently regain her composure.  
"Moon," Sunny said quietly, trotting off after her. "Is this really our business. I mean... this is sketchy."

"How they hay did I get roped into this?" Willow moaned. "I'm just a medical pony." She put on a fake smile and the four walked to the end of the alley, looking out at the street. "Okay. This isn't going to be that hard." She chuckled. "All we have to do is find two crazy violent ponies carrying an unknown highly contagious disease, in a town of about two thousand ponies before they end up hurting or infecting anypony else, assuming that they would react the same way to exposure as both me Sugar Apple did and lose any form of reason or sanity they may possess in a period of eight hours or less." Willows stopped to breathe. "If this gets out it's going to spread like wildfire."  
Sunny pushed past Moon and Willow to the sidewalk. He looked at Moon, who seemed determined no matter what. "It's really that bad?"

It was the afternoon of the next day. So far, nothing at all had gone wrong. The four ponies had searched all day and night, but hadn't found anything. No slobbering crazy ponies as Willow had described Sugar Apple, nothing. It almost felt like the whole incident was just going to blow over... almost.  
The four ponies were sitting around a table, more or less enjoying a meal in what was considered the town square by the locals. Ponies bustled to and fro around on daily business, a fountain bubbled in the center of the square, and a little to the left of that was an open well, powered by a hoofpump. Willow had Written Sunny's work telling them to excuse him for the day. The pegasus had been diagnosed with a 'strange sickness', apparently. Willow had gotten a kick out of that.  
"Things have been too quiet," Sunny murmured, taking another bite of his apple. "I'm just waiting for somepony to start screaming."  
Willow sighed inwardly. "I'm really worried. I can't get anything but nearby settlements on the line. It's like something is blocking the Canterlot signal."  
"So no specialists?" Moon was picking at a salad.  
"Nope." Willow glared at her plate. "Whatever this is, until I can get a hold of somepony in charge, we are on our own."  
"Great," muttered Sunny, finishing off his apple. A large open wagon pulled by two earth ponies rolled into the square. One of them was a lime green stallion, the other a yellow mare.  
"I don't get it," Willow huffed. She reached over and stole an olive from Brick's salad. The brown pony glared at her for minute before going back to his food. "How can you just lose communication with Canterlot?" Sunny thought that if Willow glared any harder at her food it was going to get up and run away. She dropped her head to the table and let out a moan.  
"Are you okay?" Moon, who was sitting next to Willow, set a hoof on her back, a worried expression on her face.  
Willow lifted her head and, much to Sunny's horror, was bleeding from her tear ducts. "I was feeling a little tipsy..." she trailed off, staring at the table. "I'm not feeling so good."  
She dropped her head back to the table. Moon grasped Willow's head with her hooves to look into her eyes. "Willow, your treatment didn't work. Your body is reacting to the sickness!"  
The mare wiped a foreleg across her face and her eyes widened at the blood smearing her hoof. "Oh... this is bad," she moaned and seemed to deflate.  
"Willow!" Sunny banged a hoof on the table  
"Wha?" She jerked her head and gave it a shake, spreading small droplets of blood across the tabletop. "Right, okay... let's see." Willow's bag sat next to her on the ground. She levitated it up beside her but her horn flickered and died and the bag plopped back into the dirt. The unicorn sat stunned for a second before she bent her head and heaved the bag up, spilling its contents onto the table. Brick sat and stared, wide eyed as the mare hoofed through a pile of medical supplies.  
"Um guys," Sunny murmured. Ponies were starting to look at them.  
"Here!" Willow threw a bag of syringes at Moon. "Get out a hypodermic needle. One of the big ones." Moon complied magically opening the bag and and levitating out a needle about the length of a pony's hoof. "Take this," Willow snapped, passing an unmarked bottle of electric blue liquid over to the blue unicorn. "I need you to measure exactly twenty milliliters. No more, no less."  
"What is this stuff?" Moon carefully filled the syringe to the twenty mark, examining the blue liquid as it was extracted.  
Willow moaned grasping her stomach. "I don't really know. We got a whole shipment of it by mistake about a week ago. It's something foreign. According to the paper that came with it, it's some sort of antibiotic. Targets the cells that the body doesn't need and wipes them out. You should read the list of side effects." She gave a little chuckle.  
Moon looked skeptical. "Is it safe?"  
The white mare glared back at her. "It's an experimental drug that's designed to eliminate every cell in the body except the ones that are essential to remain alive that was shipped to us by accident. Of course it isn't safe! Now jab me with that needle before I get any worse!"  
Sunny watched as the green stallion pulled out of the wagon harness and set off towards them. He wished the mares would stop speaking so loudly. They were really starting to draw a lot of attention.  
"Right!" Moon jumped. She levitated the needle up, and with practiced precision, injected the blue liquid into the mare's neck. The second Moon withdrew the needle, Willow let out an agonized scream and rolled off the bench to fall into a twitching heap in the dust.  
"What did you do to her!?" a Stallion called from the crowd of ponies that was now gathering around the four of them.  
Sunny watched as ponies ran across the square to see what was going on. "We have to get out of here!" Sunny caught Brick's eye. The Stallion nodded and scooped up the twitching Willow. He threw her over his back while Moon magically gathered up the contents of Willow's bag. With Moon trailing them, the two Stallions tried to push their way through the gathering crowd.  
"Hey, stop!" called the green earth pony who had trotted over from the wagon. Sunny ignored him, still trying to push through the nosy crowd of ponies. "Stop them!" the wagon pony yelled. The crowd barred their way as if they were just waiting for an excuse to stop the four peculiar ponies.  
"What are you doing!?" Sunny yelled back at the stallion. He could barely hear himself over the sound of chatter  
"That mare is dangerous!" he yelled back, trotting up to the surrounded group. "She's infected!"  
Brick and Moon turned back to look at the green stallion as well. The crowd fell silent. "What?" Moon gave him a look that seemed to say, 'Play along.'  
"That mare is infected." Sunny winced. This stallion was going to cause a riot.  
Moon leveled her gaze dangerously with his, but couldn't hide the surprise that showed in her face. "How do you know that?"  
"I came from Canterlot, mare." The mare who had been pulling the wagon with the green stallion pushed her way through the ring of townsponies to stand next to him.  
Sunny saw no good end to any of this. It's not like these ponies surrounding them would just let them walk away after the scene they had just shown. "What's that supposed to mean? What does being from Canterlot have anything to do with this?"  
The green pony's eyes widened. "Wow, you folks haven't heard?" He sighed, rubbing his brown mane. "I hate to be the pony to tell you this folks, but Canterlot is up in smoke." There were gasps from the crowd and several ponies started muttering to each other. "Nopony knows what really happened; all anypony knows is that there was this disease that got spread around. Ponies went crazy and started eating each other. Me and my wife here..." The stallion wrapped a leg around the yellow mare and drew her closer to him. "...we got out before things got really bad, heard everypony talking and yelling over the radios. After a while we got out of range but the last transmission we heard, they were talking about trying to evacuate the city. Radios died after that. The Royal Army still can't get that new technology stuff working."  
Sunny couldn't believe what this pony was saying. He glanced back at Willow, who was still on Brick's back. She had stopped twitching, but remained unconscious. Looking back at the green stallion, Sunny didn't think it was possible for a pony's eyes to open that wide. The stallion was staring around at the crowd, he gave a nervous gulp and continued looking around. He caught Sunny's eye and slinked over to him, suddenly looking very scared. The crowd was starting to panic now. The group trapped in the circle was momentarily forgotten as the townsponies fought amongst themselves.  
Moon and Brick gathered around Sunny and the couple from Canterlot. The green stallion dropped his head and folded his ears. "Look at them," he whispered. His eyes darted around so fast that Sunny wondered how he wasn't getting dizzy. "Look at their eyes."  
Sunny looked around at the crowd of ponies, who were still paying them no attention. Now that he thought about it they did look a little strange... The thought struck him. About half the ponies in the crowd looked like Notebook when Sunny talked to him two days ago. Most of them looked sick while others, seemed fine.  
"What?" Moon asked, looking around nervously. "What's wrong with them?"  
Sunny explained to her. The green stallion jumped up and trotted towards a sickly looking pink mare. "Have you been scratched or bitten by anything?" he questioned as he trotted around her in a circle, examining her flanks.  
"What's wrong with you?" The mare turned tail and stalked away.  
"This doesn't make any sense." The stallion was back at Sunny's side now; his hooves jittered as he looked around at the wall of conjured ponies. "They don't have any bites. Why are they sick?"  
A brown pegasus hovered over the crowd and pointed at the momentarily forgotten ponies with an accusing hoof. A few feathers pulled free of his wings and rained down on the crowd below. "Hey! Them ponies is whisperin' about somethin'!"  
All eyes went back to the ponies trapped in the center.  
The green stallion looked around desperately. He had meant to tell them about Willow, but had ended up trapping himself and his wife. Confused and scared ponies pushed in on them from all sides, yelling questions and making assumptions. The crowd mentality was in a dangerous place.  
"This is bad Sunny," Moon whispered, pressing up against the orange pegasus.  
A loud scream echoed across the square and the questioning eyes of the group turned to a purple pegasus mare cowering on the ground next to the well. Sunny took off first, taking the first chance at escape. He jumped and unfurled his wings to glide the short distance over the crowd of ponies and landed next to the mare.  
"What happened?" he asked as other ponies began to crowd around. Sure he was a subtle pony but all these obsessively snoopy townsponies were starting to drive him crazy. "Get back!" He flipped around rearing at the approaching mob. "For the love of Celestia give the mare some space!" To Sunny's surprise, the crowd backed off a little. He turned back to the mare as Moon and Brick pushed up beside him. Willow still lay unmoving. "What happened?"  
The mare looked up and raised a shaking hoof to the pump. Mr. and Mrs. wagon pony appeared on the other side of the mare. The purple pony whimpered. "The water," she cried.  
Cautiously, Sunny approached the pump and worked the handle. It took a little bit of effort, but after a few pumps he got the water moving. Small clumps of fur and pinkish water splattered to the ground at his hooves. Feeling his stomach turn over, Sunny took a step back. "Sweet Celestia."  
Moon cringed, then turned to Brick and levitated his flashlight from his saddlepack, much to the brown pony's disapproval. The other ponies watched as she trotted up to the well and shone the beam down the narrow shaft. "S-Sunny you need to look at this!"  
Nopony spoke as Sunny peeked down into the well. He could see two shapes; one was a white pony he didn't recognize, but the other was a yellow buck. Notebook? Sunny shook his head, peering closer through the darkness. It was impossible. There was no way Notebook could have gotten in the well. Actually... there was. Chances were the white pony had been getting water or something and Notebook had ran at him him or her and...  
The green Stallion peeked down beside Sunny and gasped. "Were those ponies… infected?"  
Sunny nodded and swallowed a lump in his throat. "One of them."  
The green pony looked over at Sunny, eyes filled with worry. "You know what this means, right?"  
Sunny's mouth went dry at the thought. "I'm... I'm no doctor or anything... but, the sickness would spread through water, right?"  
"Yep," Moon muttered apathetically, pulling back the flashlight. She turned to the crowd. "How many of you ponies has had a drink from this well in the past eight hours?"  
"Moon," Sunny hissed in the mare's ear. "This well doesn't just feed to the pump. It has piping to all the buildings within four blocks of here. I know because I helped run one of the pipes last summer!"  
Moon paled.  
A dozen or so ponies raised their hooves to the air, some of them looking skeptical. Brick pulled his flashlight back from Moon and dropped it back into his bag. Sunny and Moon exchanged a worried look. The four of them were once again surrounded by the confused and prying townsponies. Sunny looked around frantically for a way to escape the unsettled crowd that was slowly becoming a mob, but any plan that he could think of required Willow being awake and mobile. Sunny threw a glance at the unicorn; that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.  
"What's down there!?" a green mare called from the crowd, evoking another wave of jeers from the half-mob.  
"Is there a pony in there?" A stallion pushed out of line and ran up to peer down the well.  
They were pushed up against the stone ring of the well as the crowd surged forward, all trying to see at once.  
"Look at their faces!" the same brown pegasus as before yelled. "They look guilty. They all know something and ain't tellin' us!"  
Try as he might, Sunny could not think of a plan to get them out of this mess, and judging by the mood of the crowd, things weren't going to end up very well if they kept up the way they did.  
Why hadn't they seen the blood in the water right away? Maybe... When Sunny had seen him in that well, he didn't look like Notebook anymore. The pony's body had bloated, his coat stretched tight over the swollen frame. It must have just... popped... or something, otherwise ponies would have noticed it earlier.  
"Okay!" the green stallion next to him was glaring around wildly. "If you all back off, I will tell you!" Apparently, Sunny wasn't the only one getting flustered.  
Willow moaned and lifted her head from Brick's flank. The earth pony brought his head around and gave the mare a soft nuzzle. "Insides burn like crazy." Willow tried to lift her head further but it flopped back against the pony's flank.  
Green pony folded back his ears. "Look... there is a pony in the well." There was a whole chain of gasps from the crowd. "One of those sick ponies from Canterlot."  
"What are you doing!?" Sunny hissed quietly. "Don't tell them; you'll start a riot!"  
The green pony sighed and raised his head to the on looking ponies, ignoring Sunny. "Anypony who drank that water recently is going to go crazy... and most likely die... and that's putting it nicely," he added under his breath.  
A deadly silence hung over the crowd. "Well I didn't drink any," muttered a sickly looking stallion near the front row.  
"Yes you did!" a mare called from somewhere behind him. "I saw you raise your hoof when that mare asked!"  
The stallion glared her daggers. "No I didn't, that wasn't me!"Many of the ponies had started to turn towards him. "I... I didn't, I swear."  
The brown pegasus who had been hovering over the crowd to get a better view hit the ground like a sack of flour and the silence spell was broken. Several ponies turned to his limp body, horror etched in their faces. All at once the group broke apart; ponies ran to and fro accusing one another of drinking the water or just plain yelling to hear themselves make noise.  
A brown unicorn ran a short ways away from what Sunny could now call the mob and turned to face them. "Forget this I'm getting down to the hospital to have those ponies fix me!" He turned tail and ran; several ponies stopped whatever they were doing and followed.  
"No." rasped Willow from next to Sunny. "They can't get there. Safe. Others don't know."  
Sunny gasped, he realized just why those ponies couldn't reach the hospital. In the state the mob was in, all they would end up doing was burning the place down. If Sunny remembered correctly, the hospital had once been a Royal Equestrian Army medical facility. It was half the reason the town was here in the first place. He'd heard once that when the building had been converted to a public hospital, many of the old defenses had remained. "Come on!" he called to the group still pressed up against the well. "We have to beat them there!"  
Sunny turned to run but the green stallion held out a hoof. "Wait." He pointed towards his wagon, which was still parked near the table they had been previously eating at. Sunny turned to Brick, who gestured to the mare on his back and nodded.  
"Okay let's go!" The group galloped to the wagon and Brick laid Willow down in the back. He ran around to the front and slid into the harness next to green wagon pony. All around the square, ponies ran like frenzied ants. Sunny didn't know how ponies could act like this. If something like this turned a bunch of normal townsponies into a crazy mob then Sunny was afraid to see what would happen when ponies actually started to turn like Willow said they would. Moon climbed up into the wagon to sit next to Willow and Sunny clambered up to sit on a stack of crates near the front. The two pulling ponies set off and the wagon started slowly. The yellow mare that the green stallion had called his wife climbed up and lay down in the back, almost casually.  
Sunny felt exposed sitting in the front of an uncovered wagon, especially above the railing level, while a bunch of half-crazy ponies ran around doing whatever half-crazy ponies do. The wagon was moving about the speed of a trot when a gray earth pony jumped up onto the open back of the wagon.  
Sunny jumped up. "Get off!"  
"I'm not sick!" the stallion protested.  
Sunny stared into the stallion's eyes. From what he had learned, the eyes were the first to show signs of the sickness. The pupils were the normal size and no blood ran from the tear ducts. After a moment, he let his guard down. "Okay... fine"  
They were picking up some speed now, but were still moving quite slow. Willow was now well enough to lean up against Moon; the two sat watching the frenzied ponies as they gained distance.  
"Thanks," the gray stallion gasped staring out the back of the wagon with the rest of the ponies. "What they hay is going on?"  
"Hey look!" a mare called form the square, pointing a hoof towards the wagon. "That mare works at the hospital; they're taking ponies there to help them!"  
Sunny hung his head, silently cursing Willow for wearing her hospital apparel. The ponies still rampaging in the square all stopped as one and watched the wagon slowly gaining distance on them. Then one pony started forward, then another, and another. They followed, picking up speed. Some of them looked pleading, some angry, others were absolutely batshit insane and looked right on the verge of going Notebook.  
Sunny looked down at the ponies pulling the wagon. "You two might want to pick up the pace a little."  
The green stallion grunted and Brick strained in the harness. What the hay was in this wagon? From the work the they were putting into it, it must weigh a ton. The two ponies were giving all they had, and yet the heavy cart was hardly noticing their effort.  
Without really thinking, Sunny jumped down from his perch on the boxes and off of the cart. He braced his head against the heavy cart and started pushing.  
"Sunny what are you doing?" Moon asked urgently.  
"Helping," he grunted, feeling the wagon gain some speed. The gray earth pony jumped down beside him and did the same. And with the two ponies in front and two in back the wagon really started to move, after a minute Sunny dared to look back just in time to watch the brown pegasus from before land square on his back. He barely had time to cry out as they tumbled to the dirt.  
"Sunny!" He heard Moon call.  
"Don't stop!" he screamed. If they stopped now they would be swarmed.  
The brown pegasus had Sunny pinned on his back. Hooves tramped the ground all around them in the ponies' desperate dash for the hospital. "Get off me!" Sunny squirmed under the pony but his hooves remained planted on Sunny's underbelly. Sunny screamed and kicked, his coat burning like fire wherever the stallion touched him.  
"Just what are you plannin'?" Slobber and blood ran from the pony's muzzle as he glared at Sunny from above, an animalistic glint in his eyes. He was already gone.  
Sunny shrank back, shaking with fear. This pony was sick. "Please, let me go." Oh Celestia, if this pony bit him.  
"Just what did you and your friends do!?" The pegasus bellowed, spraying Sunny with blood and saliva.  
"Please!" Sunny cowered in his grasp. "Get away from me. You're sick!"  
"Sick?" the pony cried, laughing maniacally. His pupils grew to the size of a bit. "I'll show you sick!"  
"No!" Sunny cried hysterically, on the verge of tears. The pegasus lunged for his face but Sunny threw up a forehoof. The crazed pony was plenty happy to bite into his foreleg and Sunny screamed as he felt skin tear. "Get off! Get off! Get off!" he cried, kicking feebly at the underbelly of the crazed pegasus.  
Sunny mustered all the strength he could and, with a heave, managed to throw the biting pony off. The crazed pony landed in the dirt and Sunny scrambled to his hooves. Balancing on three hooves, trying to keep any weight off the hurt limb, he glanced around. The commotion was drawing more ponies now, coming to watch the scene from windows or storefronts.  
The crazy picked himself up and made another lunge for Sunny. Sunny hobbled a few feet backwards and braced himself.  
A shot rang out and a hole sprouted from the stallion's chest. The brown pegasus seemed to fall in slow motion and landed in the dusty road with a poof.  
A light blue pegasus landed next to Sunny and spat his revolver back into the holster on his leg. "You okay buddy?"  
It took Sunny a moment to regain himself. "No, I need to get to the hospital."  
The blue pegasus gave an unsettled shake of his light brown mane. "What the hay was that pony doin'?"  
Sunny could feel his leg burning, but didn't dare look at it. "He was sick, a whole bunch are."  
"What are you talking about buddy?" He was looking skeptical now, probably wondering if he had shot the right pony. "Look, ah just shot a pony for you... an' ah've never done that before... so you'd better not be crazy."  
"Don't worry." Ponies had started to realize what had happened and the area was quickly clearing. They must have been anxious to get away from the pegasus with the gun. "I'm not crazy. Please, just help me get to the hospital."  
He stood there for a minute more, contemplating Sunny. "Okay, then let's get goin'. C'mon, ah'll fly with you." The pegasus spread his wings but all Sunny could do was hang his head.  
"I can't fly." He really hated having to explain this to ponies.  
The light blue pony frowned. "It's your leg that's gored not your wings. You can still fly just fine can't ya'?"  
Sunny didn't think he could feel any more embarrassed. "I can't fly; I've never been able to."  
The blue pegasus' bravado deflated like a balloon. "...Well that sucks. Ah'm sorry."  
"It's okay." Sunny didn't want to make a big deal of it. Ponies brave enough were starting to approach, staring at the brown pony's form.  
"Shouldn't we do something about the pony ah just shot?"  
Sunny shook his head. "No time."  
The light blue pegasus seemed skeptical, but nodded. "Let's get going then." The pegasus gave a flap of his wings and jumped nimbly into the air. He came down above Sunny and wrapped his legs around him. With a grunt from the blue pegasus, the two were off in the air, leaving the dead pony and questioning eyes behind.  
Sunny fought the urge to buck and kick as the pegasus that held him tightly. It took all of his willpower to remind himself that this pony was saving his life. Nonetheless, the touch still burned. "Thanks!" Sunny called to the pony above him as they skimmed low over the rooftops. "What's your name?"  
"Dusty," he called back. "Look ah don't know what the hay happened back there but if helpin' you gets me in a mess, ah'm gonna' make you hurt."  
"U-understood."  
"Was that pony actually biting you?" Dusty sounded shaken and Sunny could understand why. Since when did ponies bite each other?  
Sunny glanced down at his leg and cringed; the skin around the cut was torn. The flesh beneath was exposed and the wound burned in the wind. "Pretty sure."  
The hospital could be seen ahead, its silhouette rising up above higher than any of the surrounding buildings. Almost there. He wondered how the others were faring on the wagon. Speaking of which, where was the wagon?  
Sunny scanned the streets below, and after a moment or two he spotted it. They were really moving now, flying down a narrow side street. Brick and the green stallion were giving it all they had and a group of ponies were giving chase. They took a corner out of the side street and onto the main that would lead them to the hospital. The wagon took the corner but lost traction and slid. A pony who was unfortunate enough to be in the way was hit and tossed away like a ragdoll as the heavy cart made the corner. Sunny cringed. That had probably just been some normal pony on their way home from work.  
Sunny and Dusty were flying almost directly over the wagon now as they made a straight shot for the hospital. It was maybe two blocks ahead and nearing. The two flying ponies' shadow was cast upon the wagon by the late afternoon sun; Moon looked up from the back and noticed the two flying above.  
Her attention was drawn away when a green unicorn hopped up onto the wagon deck. The yellow mare reared up and kicked the pony off, but he was immediately replaced by two others. One of the ponies attacking the wagon didn't even look sick. Some of them weren't even infected, and here they were attacking ponies for a reason Sunny couldn't understand.  
Both the gray earth pony who had climbed onto the wagon seeking escape and the yellow mare tussled with the two new arrivals as Willow tried to roll away from their stomping hooves. One of the crazy ponies was sent flying by a well aimed buck from the gray pony. The yellow mare managed to tumble off the other with the help of Moon.  
"What the hay is wrong with those ponies?" Dusty wondered aloud, now he looking down as well.  
"The ones on the wagon are with me." Sunny wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. The wagon was almost at the hospital now but there were thirty or so mob ponies on their tail, running and jeering. Sunny couldn't tell from here many of them were sick, but there was no doubting the infection was amongst them as a periwinkle tackled the stallion beside her an they both fell back.  
"Uh, shouldn't they be slowing down?" Sunny couldn't see Dusty's face but he assumed that the blue pegasus must have looked worried.  
"Yes." The speeding wagon was only a couple hundred feet from the front steps of the building now. Up a row of three steps there was a ten foot slab of concrete that led to glass-fronted walk-in. Moon jumped up on the crates in the front of the wagon and, with her magic, unhooked the two stallions from their harnesses.  
"No way!" Dusty awed. "They're crazy!"  
Sunny couldn't believe what they were doing himself. "Get us down there!" he called. Dusty didn't question, and immediately started his descent. Sunny watched as Brick and the Green pony jumped out from in front of the wagon and let it overtake them.  
The wagon barreled into the concrete steps at full speed and the front wheels exploded, sending shards of metal and splintered wood flying like shrapnel. The whole front end of the cart rose up into the air and sailed across the slab of concrete before the front entrance. With four ponies still huddled in the back, the wagon ripped through the front of the hospital and disappeared into the lobby with an almighty crash.  
Dusty flew down through the opening made by the wagon and set Sunny down next to the mangled wreck. The wagon had come to a halt right in front of the check in desk. Brick and green wagon pony galloped in behind them gasping for breath. Hospital guests stood gaping as the party looked around the trashed entry hall. The receptionist sat behind her desk, acting as if nothing had happened.  
Sunny looked back at the wagon-sized hole in the entryway; the sliding glass doors were lying off to the sides, their metal frames mangled. Worse still, the mob of half crazed ponies was nearing the steps.  
He'd momentarily forgotten about them.  
Willow staggered to her hooves in the back of the wreck and picked up her bag. She went to step off the back but instead landed on her face, spilling the contents of her bag across the polished tile. The unicorn scrambled forward and hooked a set of keys from the mess. "Here!" She flung the key ring at Sunny's feet. "There's a red box behind the checkout desk—use the key with the red button."  
Without a word, Sunny scooped up the keys in his mouth and half hobbled, half flew to the polished oak desk. With a flap of his wings, he soared over the counter to land on the other side. Quickly, he looked around for a box. It took a moment, but he spotted it on the right of the chair where only the greeter could have seen it. The old mare protested as he jammed the key into the lock and turned it. He ignored her, instead reading the warning label on the inside of the lid located above the big red button.  
'QUARANTINE'  
There was a smaller label below the big yellow letters.  
'This security feature is to only be used in the case of a biological threat detection on or within the premises. Unauthorized use of this feature will result in termination of REA employment and a pending trial of terrorism and/or treason.'  
The threat was outside the premises—that counted right?  
Sunny pressed the button and a red light blared to life on the ceiling.  
A recording of a mare's voice blared lazily from the intercoms. "Please remain calm, a threat has been reported on the premises and we are going into a temporary lockdown. For your own safety, we ask that you remain where you are until the lockdown has been lifted. REA personnel are on site to ensure your safety." After a moment, the message repeated. "Please remain calm, a threat has been reported on the..."  
Metal barriers began to roll down out of the roof, clinking in the tracks set for them, obstructing every possible entrance to the building. A heavy metal barrier began to slowly grind out of the ceiling above the main entrance; this gate was big, meant to cover the whole area around the glass walk in.  
The mob of ponies was almost to the entrance now and the barrier was moving far too slowly to drop in time. He'd taken too long...  
Willow picked herself up and bellowed, trying to make herself heard over the commotion. "If they have red eyes shoot them! Nopony gets in!" Brick complied, pulling the pistol from his saddlebag and taking stance in the demolished doorway.  
Dusty filled in beside him. "Stay back!" he called pulling out his own revolver. The ponies running at them slid to a stop, but a few decided to keep going. Brick fired a shot into the leg of one, sending the stallion into a tumble. The rest who had decided not to listen hurriedly turned back.  
"You shot me!" howled the pony from the ground. He was pushing himself backwards, away from the brown earth pony.  
Sunny looked out at the scared and angry crowd. Some of them weren't even infected. He couldn't just sit here and watch them be locked out there with those crazies. Jumping back over the desk, Sunny hobbled up to the two ponies guarding the entrance and pushed between them.  
"Sunny, are you crazy!?" Moon screamed from somewhere behind him; he didn't listen.  
He was too busy looking at the eyes of the ponies in the crowd. "You," he instructed, pointing a hoof at a pink mare. "You too." The mare and a stallion Sunny had picked ran towards the entrance. The two guards parted to let them pass. Sunny sorted about ten more ponies before he heard Moon calling him. He spared a backward glance and was stuck by a jolt of terror; the barrier had almost closed.  
The distance that remained between the top of the lowering gate and the ground was about the same height as Sunny was. Hurriedly, Sunny pointed to one more pony, who ran ahead of him before he turned to flee back to the building. The pony ahead ducked under the barrier and Sunny followed. He was halfway through when something tugged his tail. His hooves, still trying to pull him forward slipped and he fell to his belly. Another tug sent him sliding backwards.  
Sunny threw his head back and caught the bloodshot eye of a gray pegasus dragging him back. The eye was pulped as Dusty fired a shot into the pony's head, blowing out the back of his skull. Sunny scrambled forward, trying not to vomit as he attempted to clear the gate.  
Hooves struggled for grip on polished marble and Sunny cried out desperately as the wall of steel continued to drop. It was going to cut him in two!  
Brick dropped his gun and fastened his teeth in Sunny's mane. Almost as easy as a pony would handle a sack of laundry, Brick hauled him away from the closing gate.  
The barrier slammed down behind him and the links clattered as the ponies from outside immediately threw themselves against it. "Let us in!" cried a mare holding a sobbing filly by her side.  
A mare who worked at the hospital stared wide eyed at all the ponies pressing up against the gate. "Why can't we let them in?"  
"They're sick," Willow rasped. "They'll turn soon." Finally the red lights on the ceiling died and the mare's voice stopped drawling over the intercoms.  
"What's going on?" another pony in the greeting hall questioned. His face shone with confusion and misunderstanding as he glared around, first to the crashed wagon and then the new arrivals.  
Willow let out a low scream and—with some effort—staggered over to the front desk. "Attention everypony!" her voice boomed over the intercom broadcasting all throughout the building. "There has been some sort of an outbreak." The room fell to a hush, even the ponies beating at the gate stopped to listen. "Whatever this... thing is, it makes ponies go crazy. From what I have observed early symptoms include, but are not limited to, bloodshot eyes, bleeding from the mouth nose and tear ducts, confusion, general craziness, and dilated pupils. If anypony you know is showing these signs they are a danger to the entire building and need to be taken care of. Do not in any way come into physical contact with a pony showing these signs. As far as I can tell the virus is not airborne and only spreads through the means of physical interaction. Do not attempt to leave the hospital. As long as everypony complies we should be safe here. This hospital used to be an army facility facility used for medical studies. It is secure. We just have to stay here until the REA arrives. The alarm should have alerted them; I think the old systems are still tied to their broadcast relay."  
The crowd remained quiet as Willow flipped off the intercoms. She stepped away from the desk and immediately the ponies at the gate started their fruitless efforts of begging for entry.  
"Sweet Celestia," Dusty murmured, staring at his hooves. "Ah killed two ponies."  
"Sunny!" Moon called and galloped over to wrap him in a hug. "I was so worried about you!" The two separated. Moon's eyes shone with happiness as she looked over the orange pegasus. "How did you..." She trailed off, eyes widening at the sight of his leg. The joy faded from her face to be replaced with horror. "Oh no."  
"That was one heck of a ride." Willow half trotted, half stumbled over. She cast a curious glance at the blue mare. "What the hay is wrong with you?" Moon didn't even give her a glance. Willow tracked Moon's stare to Sunny's leg and her face immediately darkened. "Dang," she muttered dropping her head. "You know what this means right?" she asked him. Sunny gave her a solemn nod.  
"What does what mean?" Moon's eyes told the truth. She knew the answer but just didn't want to believe it.  
"Look at him," Willow scoffed. "You know what caused that wound."  
Moon's eyes had a strange look to them. "You can give him some of that stuff we injected you with right?"  
"Look, Moon... that medicine only worked on me because I killed the infection before it could spread to my body. A little bit of it still found its way in though; that's why I collapsed in the square. That chemical will only work in very early stages of exposure, and judging from his wound, it happened a while ago." Willow couldn't meet her gaze. Sunny could do nothing but sit and watch as the two mares argued over his life.  
"Well, try it anyways!" Moon had lost all sense of reason; the sorrow in her eyes grew unbearable and Sunny was forced to look away. Why did she even care so much? She'd only known him for little more than a day.  
Willow looked as if Moon had struck her. "Absolutely not! We have a very limited supply of this stuff; we weren't even supposed to get it. Now I'm not going to waste any of it jabbing needles into a pony who is most likely already dead!"  
Sunny couldn't help but feel a hurt. That was a pretty heavy blow. "Ouch."  
"But what if he isn't sick?" Moon shot back. Apparently, she wasn't going to give up easily "Can't we wait and see?"  
Willow sighed and shot the mare a defeated look. "We'll put him in confinement, but if he starts to go, we're going to have to take care of it. I'm sorry Moon. It's the best I can do."  
"Do I get a say in this?" Sunny asked.  
The two mares turned to him. "No!"  
"Come on Sunny," Willow sighed, trotting over to the waiting elevator. "It's not safe to have you standing around here."  
Sunny had no choice but to follow the white mare into the elevator. As the doors slid shut he caught one last glimpse of Moon. She gazed sadly back at him, tears in her blue eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Willow was growing tired of the orange pony**Come on itm , Ire bored, now you

**He slumped. **

**Willow couldn**It

**The pegasus folded his ears and smiled sheepishly. t happen to have any muffins would you?**It included in the building's food stock.t think she could stick around much longer. She didnt know better she would have guessed somepony had replaced her blood with acid. That medicine may have killed the virus inside her, but it had also killed a lot of things it shouldns small functions. Eventually her body would return to the way it had been. But in the meantime, she was just going to have to suffer.

**She glanced back to see Moon trotting up to her. **

**Willow rolled her eyes. Nopony ever listened to her. Even when she was in charge. **

**Moon just smiled and batted her eyes. m a good friend of Willow **

**Of course. She would be having a little talk with her hospital staff, one stallion in particular. **

**Willow was really getting tired of this mare**I already told you yesterday. It appears that, miraculously, he holds some sort of immunity to the infection. But until I can be sure he isnt let him out until I run some more tests. I just can** Honestly this mare just would not take a hint. **

**m just worried about him.t really seem to be paying attention to her; her eyes looked to a spot somewhere next to Willow**I can !What

**t know?t have brought it up, but she couldn**Know what?Celestia send me to the moon now! How could this mare be so naive?That you have been chasing after his tail like a kitten after a ball of ?m not!s eyes hardened digging into Willowt enough to hide her slight blush.

Willow wasnt going to happen. t kidding when I said you can** she pleaded silently. **

**Grudgingly, Moon turned and stomped off towards the stairwell. Willow let out a breath she had been holding. She wasnt. She had vowed that no matter what, she would help ponies and thatt about to stop now just because she wasn**Are you okay mister?Help,How?t normally lie on the ground when it was dirty. But she was just a filly and didnIn my saddlebag... there** he gasped. His hooves scraping narrow troughs in the dirt **

**The little filly dug through the bag and pulled out a smaller baggie. **

**Willow had thought the stallion looked scared, she would have ran for help had he not asked her to help him. s what you need to do.**Take the little cap off the needle, and if you look closely, there should be a vein in my neck that you can see. A big one, you might have to feel around for it a little. You need to make sure you poke the needle into that vein, okay?Uh huh, but mister what if I mess up, why can

**Despite the pain the stallion had managed a smile. m sick and I need my medicine.**Can I go find some other pony to do it?t want to poke something into a ponyThere isnt get help soon I

**She wondered what kind of trouble. Maybe he would have to do some extra work or something. Or he wasn**Okay, here I go.s neck and after a little searching found what she was pretty sure to be the vein he was talking about. Willow took a deep breath and poked the little needle into the spot. Almost immediately the stallions eye.

**She hadnt know exactly what it was. She had never seen him again. At that moment Willow had felt so proud she thought shet quite know what the scalpel part was for, but that would come in later. **

**As Willow continued down the hallway her thoughts wandered to the orange pegasus she was holding in confinement. If there was any possibility for a real cure, this pony was probably the key. She had seen it herself. The wound itself had held traces of the infection but from what she could tell it was just clinging to the flesh. In a way Sunnyt be sure though, she had heard stories from other medical ponies of a sickness lying dormant in a hostt worth the risk. Hopefully Sunny would show full immunity. If he didnNo! He is just a pony that was dragged into this with the rest of us.t tell if the feeling was from the drug she had taken or something else. **

**Willow**Moon I thought I told you to...t really Sugar Apple. His light red coat was matted and patched, spots of bare skin showing through where the hair had fallen away.

Willow couldnS-Sugar Apple?t about to let him do it again. She reached the door at the end of the hall and pulled frantically on the handle, it was locked. Of course itm definitely not going to lose my keys. She still didnDamn it.t handle this. It was still recovering from the medical drain cleaner she had sent through her system.

She flipped around; he was no less than ten feet from her now. He galloped unsteadily down the hallway as if he were going to fall at any moment. Willow saw what had caught her. She had left her keys in the lock and the retractable cable had reached its end.

The label on the box seemed to be mocking her as she watched the crazed pony close the distance.

Willow gave a desperate tug and the key broke off in the lock. The whole ring flew back at her and struck a spot just above her eye. Well, I didnt quite clear it. Her hooves struck a desktop and she somersaulted forward into another desk.

Honestly, Willow was starting to feel sorry for herself. This was where the REA had done most of their chemical experimentation. They had cleared out years ago but many of the supplies were still here, beakers, lab equipment. No chemicals though.

Willow rolled onto her back and scrambled up against a desk, the dark patches in her vision growing larger. t pass out, if you pass out this is it for you.s head with a bong and he careened into a wall. In an instant Willow was on her hooves. Adrenaline pumped through her aching body. She galloped over to the momentarily-stunned pony and brought the drawer down on his head. He tried to scramble to his hooves but was knocked back to the floor by another blow. Willow didnt Sugar Apple anymore. Any traits the stallion may have possessed were gone. Replaced by what lay inside this crazy snarling creature. She swung again, and again, and again. On the fifth strike she felt something below her give and Sugar Apple let out a strangled scream.

Willow hesitated, maybe it was still him. Maybe his personality was fighting its way through the sickness. No! There was no way he could come back.

She swung. She swung until blood spattered the floor and streamed from the end of the drawer as she pulled back for another swing. She swung until she couldnNot this time.t even nice enough to have put in a clock. Sunny didnt cure infection and were primarily designed to be used in emergencies when medical care wasnWhatever you do,Do not take a healing potion to mend a broken bone. If you dons in. If it

**Sunny respected Willow. She may be a little grumpy at times but that pony knew her stuff, and she used her expertise to help every pony she could. **

**The pegasus jumped at the sound of Moon**Hi, Willow let you come and see me?Well, lett invite me.t help but chuckle. t let her catch you up here or she

**Moon may have been smiling but her eyes were clouded with worry. **

**m doing fine.**I mean how are you feeling, Sunny?Honestly It feel sick at all. Im immune.I just dont let you out,She says that even though the sickness doesn

**Moon looked back at Sunny, her eyes tearing up. m just worried about you; I only met you a few days ago and haven **

**Sunny couldn**We

**Moon nodded, she reached a hoof up and wiped the tears from her eyes. **

**Despite how bored he was the last thing he wanted to do right now was cause more trouble for Willow. The mare was already feeling bad enough without having to deal with Moon. Sunny didnt want to see what would happen if she found Moon here. **

**She managed a smile. ll see you when Willow decides to let you out, okay?**Sounds good.t stop looking at you.

**With one last glance Moon turned away from the window and disappeared from view. **

**A slight buzz still hung in the air hung in the air. She didnt die of boredom first, that sound was going to drive him crazy. **

**Moon rode the elevator back down to the main level. Classical music played over the speakers. She was pretty sure it was a piece by Octavia but she couldn**I wonder how the rest of them are doing out there,t moved at all since they had arrived.

**Moon asked. **

**The mare didn**Oh, just in case.s not supposed to be peaceful. Further away she could see a few staggering shapes; the occasional gunshot rang out somewhere in the distance. It just didnLet me in,I can** Moon gasped as the pony looked away from his double barrel and leveled his gaze with hers. He**Why not?The whole building is locked down. I don

**Moon could tell now that this stallion was terrified. His voice shook as he tried to keep his voice level. t open this gate, Ire right behind me. I can **

**Moon looked back at the mare behind the counter. A few ponies who had been milling around in the lobby looked up in surprise. **

**She shrugged. s somewhere upstairs.t a stallion pleading for his life at the barrier. What was wrong with these ponies? They were acting almost as bad as the crazy ones. **

**Moon turned back to the stallion. He hung his head, defeated. She could hear the sound of rapid hoofsteps, apparently the stallion did too. His head shot up and he turned away from the barrier. **

**he muttered raising the shotgun. **

**m sorry.t do a single thing about it. **

**He didn**I lasted this long. coats. These things werent have any sense of reason or rational thought. They didnSomepony help!t they do anything?

**The stallion growled drawing back the hammers on the shotgun. The muzzle flashed and a well-placed buckshot blew apart the left side of one of the crazed pony's heads. It tumbled to the ground, blood streaking the concrete, but the others didn**Damn they** The stallion cracked open his shotgun and levitated out two smoking shells. **

**Moon looked back to the lobby where ponies were fleeing for the elevator. Dusty was galloping towards her but he would never make it in time. **

**She turned back in time to see the green stallion level his gun with another of the infected ponies. He fired and a yellow stallion dropped. He readied to fire another shot but one of the three remaining ponies reached him before he could fire and tackled him to the ground. He screamed as the pony bit into his neck; his shotgun lying by his side. In less than a second the other two were on him and Moon could do nothing but watch in horror as they bit and tore at the green pony. **

**Dusty slid to a stop beside her with his revolver ready. He fired three steady shots and the ponies mauling the green stallion fell away. He scrambled to his hooves, gazing around frantically, looking for more of them. He had been hurt bad. Blood gushed from a gash in his neck and all around his body patches of his green coat were torn and bloody. **

**He looked down at himself and chuckled, m a little screwed up.**Should have gotten something faster,What are you doing?I reckon I** He started levitating shells to them. The green stallion looked at Dusty, who hadn**Thanks for trying, friend, but now you need to ?Look at me!They tore me to pieces! I** The stallion sat down hard and heaved a sigh; tears pooled in his eyes. **

**Moon looked at Dusty; the light blue pegasus still hadnt tell what was going through his mind but the pegasus had to be thinking about something. **

**The green stallion lowered his head. **

**Dusty fired and Moon jumped with startled squeal. She had expected him to protest, not just**Three,I

**Willow came to in darkness. Slowly she opened her eyes and pushed herself up to a sitting position. She was aware of two things: One, every muscle in her body burned like fire. And two, her coat felt sticky. She managed to get her hooves under her and rise. The room was completely dark, any light that had shone in from the windows before now gone with the arrival of night. Where was the light switch? She needed Brick and his flashlight. Her head thudded against a wall. She worked her way along the wall and reached the switch. She realized why she was so sticky. **

**Willow looked down at her coat in disgust. Her normal, smooth, white coat was stained red with blood. She looked over to where she had been lying. A pony shaped patch of tile remained white while blood stained the floor all around it. Sugar Apple lay a short distance away. **

**She groaned. s the last time I perform brain surgery with a desk drawer.**Wonderful.t always been a community hospital. It used to be an REA experimental medical center. The fourth floor had been the living quarters for the staff. Levels one through three had all been basic medical. Floor five was mostly offices and six was communications. But when the REA had pulled out all the equipment had gone with them. Floor six was just an empty shell now.

The doors slid open on level four and Willow stepped out into a long hallway. A few ponies milled around outside their rooms talking with one another or just burning time. Willow didnWhat?Is there something on my face?Um, you kind of... blood. A-are you okay?It** This was too much, this was so funny that Willow was about to cry. The mare**Itt happen to know what time it is, would you?Um, about ten, I .t say anything. She reached the room her and brick had been sharing and pushed open the door. Willow could hear the sound of running water in the bathroom. She groaned, stripping off her ruined barding.

t care whether or not yous my turn!I donre in the middle of a shower. Get . I hurt, Im tired. Now if you don

**The look he gave her said he really didn**Okay, let me rephrase that. If you don** Brick tilted his head to one side as if he were going over his options. Willow stomped her hoof. t take a shower with me. Besides this is Sugar Apple's blood. If you did then I It didnt talk, he was teasing her. She could tell from the gleam in his eye. **

**Brick looked back at the stream of water and shrugged. He stepped out and Willow immediately moved around him and took his place. She sighed as the warm water washed over her back, soothing her aching body. It took a while to wash all the blood from her mane so that it finally returned to its normal non-sticky crimson, the light blue streaks no longer hidden. The water felt amazing on her coat. She sighed again holding her head under the stream. **

**The bathroom went dark to be replaced by a soft orange glow of the emergency system. Willow nickered. Of all times this could happen it had to happen now. She waited; the backup generators would be kicking in in, five, four, three, two, one**What?t soaked in blood. Why couldnBrick! Get your things; we

**The lights shut off. Sunny blinked. It was dark in here. Really dark. He closed his eyes; it didnt thought of in what seemed like forever. Anything to keep his mind off the darkness. How long had it been? A minute? An hour? There was no way to tell. One memory stuck out more prominent than the others. He could see the faces; remember the names, the sights, the sounds. Anything to get away from this darkness. **

**He was just a colt; it was his friend Mangos turn to seek and all the foals ran off searching for a good spot to hide. The little orange colt counted in the corner while the group of foals dispersed. **

**Sunny knew where he was going to hide. His hiding spot was going to be the very best. He sneaked around the edge of the house and pulled open the door on the side. It led down into a cellar. It was dark down there but Sunny wasnt fly. And the ponies who werent want to be around him or theys birthday party because his mother had made the pony invite him. But Sunny still liked to consider Mango as a friend, because his mother was so nice to him. **

**But little did he know the game up above had been delayed. It was present time, and everypony knew what happened after presents. Cake! The game was totally forgotten and what was it if that orange pegasus wasnt find him. He went to push up on the lid but it wouldnt worry. Somepony would find him. Or maybe there was just something blocking the lid and he just had to push harder. He tried a few more times to get the lid up. Even twisting over onto his back and kicking it with all four legs. But it still wouldnt even see his own hooves. But he could hear his breathing. **

**he screamed. But still nopony heard him. Maybe they were still having fun at the party. He couldns parents had said they couldns parents decide to search their house. They had found a cowering orange pegasus in the chest in the cellar. The colt had been terrified. When they had tried to take him out he had screamed and kicked at them. **

**Later he couldnt even want to close his eyes because it would block out the light. His parents had taken him home but after that he refused to sleep in the dark and despite his father**Wrong memory,t place a hoof on it. It was too quiet, much too quiet. Sunny thought back to an hour or so ago. Willow had told him that this room was airtight.

Sunny gasped. t be right.t hear the fan. Willow had also said that this room had its own life support system so that if a contagious pony were in here it could be contained in the room. t ** This was bad. This was really bad. Not panicking. Not panicking at all. This wasn**Take deep breaths Sunny, deep breaths. Wait no! Light breaths, breath this is okay. I

**With nothing else to do Sunny rolled back on the bed and closed his eyes. All he could do was wait. Wait and breathe lightly. **

**Willow followed Brick down the stairs; his flashlight proving very useful in the darkness. The only way to reach the basement without the elevator was to take the staircase from the lobby. The group had been bombarded by scared ponies trying to figure out why there was no power and had to force their way through the mob of ponies. On the bright side Willow had found two maintenance ponies on the way down here who knew a whole lot more about generators than she did. Most of the staff had been out when the building was sealed but some still remained. She was thankful these two were here. But surprisingly the building manager was absent leaving Willow the next highest in command. **

**t know why you the yellow maintenance pony muttered. **

**t complain Socket, let Said the gray unicorn behind the earth pony. **

**he shot back, **

**Willow snapped back at them as the group exited the stairwell. **

**The basement was dark apart from four emergency lights on the ceiling. Willow pointed a hoof at the grey unicorn with the purple mane. **

**The mare nodded. s me. Been in maintenance here for... quite some time now.**Good. So you know how to fix a spark generator?t even see anything that looked like a generator.

The mare scoffed. re a new government why don** muttered Socket. **

**Willow was impressed. She knew this mare had been in maintenance for a while but she had never guessed that she would know as much as she said she did. **

**Snowglobe frowned. t going anywhere.**So where** Willow pushed. It was nice that this mare knew all this but right now wasn**They hollowed out another level. I don

**Willow blinked. This mare was an asset. Without her she probably wouldn**Over there, there

**s go then.**Brick hurry it up. I can** She started down the staircase but her hooves slipped and she tumbled forward. Willow closed her eyes expecting to hit the hard floor at any second. But instead she found herself cold and wet. **

**Willow thrashed around in the water for a moment. Brick**I thought we were fixing generators not going swimming,It shut up,Hey!Please don

**The smile immediately fell away from the mare's face. t but I doubt you Snowglobe gazed down at still water. **

**Willow groaned. m just going to take a shot in the dark here and guess that they don This wasnt get a break. **

**Snowglobe sighed. **

**s convenient. How are we supposed to drain our generator room if the generators used to produce the electricity are in the flooded generator room?**I** How had she gotten caught up in all this? She was just a mare that worked at a hospital for Celestiad end up in charge of a whole damned hospital in the middle of an epidemic? **

**Snowglobe thought aloud, **

**Willow raised her head to look at the grey mare. **

**Snowglobe frowned and rubbed her chin. d have to run the wires to them again. They most certainly wouldnt really have a need to conserve power. But I guess if we could get them running it would be better than nothing.**That** Willow breathed a sigh of relief. s do it.**Okay, just let me make sure everything up. Last thing we need right now is to blow every circuit in the building.s flashlight from his grasp with her magic and trotted over to one of the giant metal shapes. She pressed a blue button and a terminal built into the machine blinked to life casting a green glow from its dusty screen.

Willow gaped. Those were the generators? They were huge! You could have stacked three ponies on top of each other and they would barely clear the top. And there were two of them!

**Snowglobe laughed. She hit a button on the terminal and trotted around the machine looking it over and muttering to herself. After about a minute or so she trotted back over to them. **

**Willow frowned. There was no way it could be that easy. The generators were going to blow up or something. That was about how lucky she felt. **

**Snowglobe pulled open a hatch on the side of the giant machine and sighed. **

**Socket scoffed. **

**Willow groaned inwardly. It wasn**Well . . .This thing

**All ponies were quiet for a minute. s that have to do with anything?**A little FYI, Snowglobe, we arenre going to have to clarify things just a little bit.s expression that the mare wanted to do nothing less than push the stallion down a flight of stairs. Lucky for her there was one nearby. **Snowglobe sat down and motioned for the other two to do the same. Willow flopped onto her side, relieved to get the weight off her hooves. After her little cold bath her limbs seemed to burn more than ever. Brick sat next to her and Socket pointedly did the same. **

**t have even asked,**Now hereve got. The generators below us used to be spark generators. Notice how I say 'used to.' Spark generators don like they do spark batteries. Most of the process is still a secret that only the manufacturer knows. But from what I have learned spark generators use unicorn magic to generate spark. In turn that creates electricity. I don

**Willow replied. **

**Socket muttered. Brick was eyeballing his flashlight on the ground in front of the grey mare. **

**Willow wouldn**I could fill these two beasts up with gems right now and hook them to the cityt much of a need to keep gemstones lying do we have any gems?Sort , letm guessing it is considering that these two machines were designed to run in sync with each other. Then if I empty the contents of that bin into this one, we should have a full our current consumption rate, Id get about a month of , that

**Socket looked over to her and tilted his head. **

**Snowglobe looked just as curious. Willow sighed. Shouldn**This building is a hospital, not a shelter. It

**Snowglobe gasped. Socket**Didn** Why did she have to bring this up now? Bad Willow. s not just here.**So we** Snowglobe swallowed, apparently struggling to take the information in. **

**Willow though desperately for a way to change the topic. t hurt to drag out what we can.**If we had to do something I would suggest turning off the wate, heating talismans. You could turn off the main power grid at night as well. And I hate to throw this out but all the medical machinery and life support life support systems? You mean the ones that are keeping ponies alive? you really think those ponies in intensive care have a chance? The ones that are in comas and on whatever other machines keeping them alive? If things are as bad as you say they are. And nopony is coming to help us. All that they are doing is taking up electricity and ** Willow stomped her hoof. **

**Brick and Socket sat a short distance away. The two stallions watched wide eyed not wanting to interrupt but also not wanting to miss anything. Snowglobe sighed. t like it either. But the only reason those ponies are alive is because of those machines. When the power runs out they are going to die. It would only make sense to unplug em **

**Willow wanted to cry. She knew Snowglobe was right but she just couldnt just pull the plug and kill those ponies. She was the one who had helped half of them. There was no way she just let them die. But, Snowglobe was right. It only made sense, unplugging them now would save power and supplies. **

**Socket cut in, t, you know...**Wouldn

**Willow sniffed. t have backups are...**You okay? You look kinda have to get this generator going, right now!Willow, just calm down a little. Okay? Tell me what

**She forced herself to take a few deep breaths. t get the power back.**Socket, I

**For once the yellow stallion didn**What do I need to do?Take the cover off that panel. Inside there should be six ten gauge wires. Find a pair of cutters. You need to pull out as much length as you can and cut the wires. Those run down to the generators. They may be a little small but we don

**Socket galloped over to a utility closet and crashed around inside. A moment later he emerged with a pair of wire snips in his mouth. **

**Snowglobe spared a glance backwards. ll work.**Hey brown pony!You got a screwdriver?What are you doing on that terminal?This thing has some stupid security code on it.t look up from the screen. For a minute Willow contemplated going up there to get Sunny now. She pushed the thought away. Even if she could manage to run up six levels of stairs in her current condition the door itself had an electronic lock. It would take no less than a plasma cutter and a battering ram to get that door open.

**Snowglobe jeered pointing a triumphant hoof at the terminal. s smarter?**Hey Snowglobe?Theres black but it

**She didn**It's probly** Snowglobe chuckled. t stop me,**Spark generators don

**There was an earsplitting crack and a flash of blue light. The emergency lights cut out and Willow was plunged into complete darkness. She couldn**Oh Celestia, what did I do?Hes dead, I know he

**Willow called into the darkness. The air around her felt warm. Nothing. She could smell it. She didn**Brick! I need your light!t even have to look. She knew it was there. Snowglobe stared at the terminal screen, unnmoving. Willow nodded and Brick pointed his flashlight towards the panel. Slowly she turned her head to look at the shape on the ground. The limp form of Socket smoked about five feet away from the wall.

**Willow nudged Brick and the two approached the unmoving pony. She could still hear Snowglobe whimpering behind her. Brick held the light steady as they neared Socket. Slowly Willow circled the smoking form until she could see his front. Despite her experience Willow gagged. Across his entire front his yellow coat was burned and blackened. So much electrical current had passed through this pony that his eyes had boiled in his skull. She had seen this once before when she was still in training. This pony was definitely dead. Smoke rose from his charred form and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. **

**Willow turned away and walked over to Snowglobe. She put her leg around the shaking mare. **

**t a g-ground,**That was the p-power cable for the emergency ** Willow pulled the shaking mare closer to her. s alright.**It** Snowglobe sobbed. Willow could tell she was about to lose it. She had to do something to calm her down. **

**Willow comforted. **

**She whimpered. t killed ponies, you just watch them die!**You** Willow knew that the mare was terrified but that comment still stung. She sighed. As Willow spoke Snowglobe**He insisted that we start, that he didn** Snowglobe turned away from the terminal to look at her. t even willing to get up. But you cant, then a pony I care about very much is going to die. Okay?**I

**t want you to try. I want you to do it. You are the only one that knows how to work this generator and if all you do is try then a good pony is going to die.**Looks like I have a generator to start.t sleep. What had happened to her normal life? Just four days ago she had been going to work, talking with friends, wondering what she was going to do when the weekend came around. And now all of a sudden she was locked in a hospital with a bunch of crazy ponies eating each other outside. It was hard to believe things had changed so quickly. Sure, her old life had been boring and repetitive and sometimes she had wished for something exciting to happen. But not like this, this wasnt deserve this! When they had closed down the hospital they had killed ponies. She could see foals out there!

Moon rolled herself out of bed and crossed the room to the window. Like every other window in the building it was covered by a metal grate. The room was dark apart from the dull orange light that shone above the door. The power had gone out about an hour ago and hadnt doing it anymore. She gazed down at the town below. Little fires burned here and there around the town. An explosion lit up a building about two blocks away from the hospital and Moon felt the floor shake.

s going on out there,t going to be able to sleep tonight. There was way too much going through her mind. One thing was for sure, she was too restless. If she didns not like ponies just kept guns lying around in a hospital.

Moon trotted for the door but paused before she reached it. **she scolded herself. re just going for a walk in the hallway you don But still, she couldnt know why but she was terrified. Every single nerve in her body screamed for her to run back to her room and grab the gun. It was as if all the horrors of the past few days were pouring out of her and manifesting themselves in this section of dark hallway. **

**Moon stepped out from under emergency lamp trying not to think about the surrounding darkness and what it might hide in its depths. Moon chuckled quietly to herself. s just a hallway. There can She was almost to the next circle of orange now. She couldns not like she was scared of the dark or anything. **

**Moon breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped towards the comforting orange glow. Then it was gone. How could the light just disappear? She panicked; it was so dark she couldn**What the hay are you doing?s voice asked from beside her.

**She shrieked trying to scramble to her hooves. But a weight landed on her back pushing her back to the floor. **

**said the same voice, this time from above her. Something in the back of her mind told her that the stallion was probably trying to comfort her but she was still too worked up to think clearly. She tried to pull free from his grasp but he wrapped his legs around her flank and kept her belly firmly pressed to the ground. **

**Moon snapped trying to push herself up again. She nickered and stopped fighting. She wasnt feel like this pony wanted to hurt her. She fought to slow her breathing, still scared from whatever it had been that scared her. **

**t lettins going on,**How do you know my name?I cans going on here?I ?Yep.t see the pegasus but she was pretty sure he was smiling. A door banged open somewhere ahead and Moon jumped. A moment later a beam of light lit up the dark hall bringing the two of them into focus.

A blue unicorn ran up to them levitating a flashlight by his side. **he bellowed. **

**to get her to calm down,**Hey could you by any chance take that light outta my eyes?Do I look stupid to you? Now I

**Moon still didnt good. **

**Dusty looked puzzled. t know what you about, but I . . .t seem like the kind of pony who would blush. A pony like him blushing seemed about as right as a manticore smiling. **

**Dusty rolled off her back and scrambled to his hooves. **

**The stallion looked unconvinced. m wrong when I say this. Here I am, trying to get some sleep. I hear screaming in the hallway. I hear ponies running, and then I hear a crash and the sound of a tussle. So I haul my tired rump out of bed, get my light and come out here to see you on top of this poor terrified mare.**Now tell me what I

**Dusty gave a little nervous chuckle. t it?s face. t need ponies like you in here.**What

**The blue unicorn nickered. **

**Dusty gaped. **

**The mare scoffed. **

**The unicorn stepped closer to Dusty who backed away further. **

**The mare spat from the doorway before slamming the door. **

**Moon finally pulled herself together and took in the situation. Dusty could probably handle himself but a fight right now wouldn**He didn

**He frowned. **

**Moon cut him off. m not stupid, okay. I think I would know if a pony was trying tom not stupid. Okay.**Look, It like the idea of ponies hurting each other. And it really looked like he was trying to . . . You know.s tone softened. s okay, it was just a misunderstanding.I** He headed back to his room and closed the door. Dusty and Moon were plunged back into darkness. Moon didn**Hey, Dusty? Do you have a light?Yeah, one 

**Moon rolled her eyes. Before he could reply she levitated the light from his grip. **

**Dusty was silent for a moment. The blue pegasus looked concerned. **

**Moon joked. **

**he choked. The look on Dusty**I** She nudged the pegasus who was still looking quite dumbfounded. d take a walk and maybe even go check on Sunny.**Well you certainly have an don** she added. s over now though.**Well that** Dusty tilted his head to one side. **

**s so strange about that?**Well didns it been now? Like, four days ago?Yeah, but we have him up in confinement on the fifth you crazy?You one of those crazy ponies in here?Oh, no! I would never dream of it. Willow has him locked up. He** She bounced on her hooves. **

**He dropped his questioning gaze. s nice to know. I really liked that pony for the whole ten minutes that I knew him.**Yeah.t want anything to happen to Sunny.

**Dusty smiled. how he **

**d say yes?**Cause I got the only ** Moon laughed. m just giving you a hard time. Besides, if I decide to freak out again it would be nice to have you around to tackle me to the floor again.t much but it still lit up the hallway ahead of them. When they reached the elevator she stopped by it and pressed the call button. **

**Dusty stopped and turned to look at her. s no power right?**What? Oh!** She was acting crazy. Freaking out in dark hallways and now trying to use an elevator in a power outage. Pull yourself together. She scolded. The two walked on in silence towards the stairwell. Dusty was acting subdued as if he were hiding something. Maybe he was still embarrassed after that awkward confrontation. **

**Moon took a deep breath. m sorry about freaking out and screaming and making that pony think you were trying to rape me.**It** He sighed. s hard to read a pony by how they look. I would never touch you.**Well, I mean. Not that I wouldn** He stammered. He went an even darker shade of red. He flopped over and threw his hooves over his face. ****t help it. Dusty rolled over onto his back. m sorry.**It** She tried to sound sincere but she just couldn**I not like that!I** Moon teased. **

**Dusty glared at her. Moon just chuckled. They started walking again and after a minute Moon could see the door to the stairwell ahead. Dusty sighed when they had reached it. t going to ever let me hear the end of this are you?** almost ready Snowglobe?Almost.I just need to reboot the spell matrix. This thing has been sitting on standby for who knows how long. There are some errors in the .s machine-y talk was getting confusing. When it came to medicine she could tell a pony anything they needed to know. But machinery was out of her range of knowledge. t mean to come off as pushy, but could you please hurry it up a little?I** Snowglobe huffed. Her eyes were still wet and Willow could understand why. She had had to pass Socket multiple times to reach the wires. She sniffed. s my fault.**Look Snowglobe, I** Willow didn**You screwed up okay. Sockett dwell on. Especially now, okay?Reboot** She sniffed. Snowglobe walked around the giant machine until she reached a switch. s hope this works.**Is the floor supposed to vibrating!?Don** Snowglobe shouted back. The room lit up as the recently dead lights blared to life. She jeered. **

**Willow cheered. Now that the power was back on she could take the elevator up to the fifth floor. Sunny**Brick, go call the elevator!Those rainbows are a bad sign!Why!?I like the rainbows, they

**Snowglobe shot her a sideways glance. s supposed to be converting into energy! But whatever you do! Never look directly into the source of the light! You **

**Willow only heard half of her shouted explanation. d love to stay and talk but I have to go check on somepony!**Go ahead; the elevator should be working now! I** Willow smiled. The mare may still have been suffering from Socket. But at least work was keeping her mind off it. **

**Willow called. She turned and ran for the elevator that Brick was holding for her. Thank Celestia. No more stairs! **

**t mention it!**If we meet up again I** The elevator doors closed and cut off the rest of her sentence. **

**The deafening hum the generator was immediately cut off to be replaced by casual elevator music. Now that she had a moment to think Willow realized just how tired she was. Every muscle in her body screamed with weariness and she leaned against Brick for support. Brick looked down at her and smiled. He wrapped a gentle foreleg around her flank. **

**Wait? Did he just smile? Willow did a double take but the stallion was looking straight ahead. She needed sleep. Imagining things definitely wasn**Why don** she wondered aloud. The warmth of his body was comforting after the chilly air of the basement. t get you to shut up.**Did you use my shampoo?You did! Didn** Brick still didn**How many times have I told you that the blue bottle is mine?I swear if that bottle is empty I will make you trot that rump of yours over to the store and get a new one zombie ponies or not.t stay mad at Brick for more than a minute. He was like a really big kitten. Really big. He was almost a head taller than her.

She reached the end of the hall and pulled open the door that lead to the containment room she had Sunny in. Momentarily all traces of weariness were gone. If something had happened to the orange pony she would never be able to forgive herself. She was surprised to find Dusty and Moon already there.

**Moon was in her face so fast Willow could have sworn she had teleported had her horn been glowing. **

**Okay, something was definitely wrong. From what she knew Moon sometimes overreacted. But Moon looked like she had a good reason for it this time. **

**Dusty trotted up and put a wing around Moon who seemed to settle a little. t movin. Willow froze. Oh no. This couldn**Open the door! ** Moon was back at the window with her front hooves propped up on it. **

**Willow tried the key code again. Still nothing. m trying to get it open.**Well open it faster!I am trying to open it faster!t come to mind. **Willow turned away from the door and spotted Brick. She ran over to him and plunged her head into his saddlebag. **

**Moon pushed. **

**Willow found the bit of the gun and pulled it out. She turned and fired the whole clip into the lock. Firing the gun jarred her brain and the sound rung in her ears. And it definitely wasnt budge. **

**Dusty added as Willow shook her head to clear the stars. **

**She turned to Brick. The stallion glared but nodded nonetheless. He reared up on his hind legs and threw himself at the door. The frame bent and the glass cracked but otherwise nothing. **

**Moon was staring at Sunny as if she could melt the window between them with her eyes. she whined, but with none of the previous venom in her voice. **

**Brick backed all the way up to the end of the room and threw himself forward gaining as much momentum as he could in the confined space. The massive pony jumped into the air and hit the door with all four hooves. The impact jarred the frame and the entire door tore free of its hinges. Both Brick and the door crashed to the floor inside the room. **

**Willow raced into the room and hopped over Brick. she added before attending to Sunny. He was on the single bed in the corner. It looked like he had fallen asleep. Good, she thought. Maybe he**Is he breathing?t breathing. **Willow called. She couldn**I need to get him breathing again.I can do it! You do your... Willow stuff.t stop her from trying. **She looked down at Brick who was still on the floor. The stunned pony lifted his head and gave it a shake. At least it still worked for him. **

**Dusty muttered. **

**She didnt he see that something very serious was going on here? **

**He pointed a hoof at the bed Sunny was on. **

**Willow froze, her train of thought broken. Wheels, bed downstairs, right. She ran back over to the bed and grabbed ahold of the rail. Dusty grabbed hold beside her and together they managed to tug the bed away from the wall and out of the room. s go!t there. She landed flat on her face and the bed nearly rolled right over her. **

**Moon yelled nudging her with a hoof. Willow tried to get up but her body had had it. She had gone on this long but this was as far as she was going. The combined efforts of the last few days and the medical drain-o she had sent through her system back in the square had taken their toll. . . Again. This was the second time today her body had failed her. Maybe it was trying to teach her a lesson. **

**t.**Willow, wake up!I** She moaned. t you tell me there was a floor there?t hurt anymore. Now it was more of a dull throbbing that filled her entire body. With Brick's help she climbed to her hooves. Moon was glaring at her. Again. Moon was the master of evil glares. She couldn**Willow, you

**Willow stumbled over to the machine. Looking it over she found everything in order. They had managed to hook everything up right. It was operating the machine that they were confused about. She looked over to the control terminal and ran the routine. **

**Moon pressed in beside her. **

**It was a good thing Moon was here. At least she knew a thing or two about medical care. Willow knew that if she had had to hook up the machine without Moon in her current condition she would have had to talk a pony through it. She turned away from the bed and immediately landed on her face, again. How many times could she fall down in one day? It was really starting to hurt. Maybe she could get Brick to carry around a pillow and throw it down wherever she was about to fall. **

**A green mare trotted into the room. Her curious gaze looking at Sunny and then down to the heap of pony on the floor. she stammered. **

**Willow recognized the mare. She worked here. She jabbed a hoof at the mare. The mare looked skeptical but nodded and trotted over to the machine. **

**Willow climbed to her hooves again and Moon opened her mouth to say something. Willow stuck out a hoof to silence her. m well I will tie you to a bed and force feed you a whole bottle Ipecac. He Bed, where was a bed? She was exhausted. Her eyes trying to droop shut any time she stopped thinking about holding them open. If she ever had to take that blue stuff again she didn**What happened to him?When the power went out the life support system in that room went out too. That place is airtight. The REA built it to contain biological didn** Moon spat accusingly. **

**Willow already felt bad enough. She didn**I went down to start the generators. By the time I was down there it would have taken longer to come back up than to stay down there and get them almost died because you were too lazy to go and get him!?That

**She spat back. m in any condition to trot my way up six flights of stairs?**Its alive. I sort of. And now with that said. I** Willow turned her back on Moon and stalked out of the room. Fighting to stay on her hooves, every step seemed to tire her more. she growled. The thought of a soft bed was almost enough to put her to sleep where she stood. She was going to take a long nap.**


	3. Chapter 3

s waking , I can see that, he okay?He was okay yesterday. Nothing has are you feeling Sunny?Okay I guess.t know how he was feeling. Tired? There was a blanket over him. He reached his head forward and pulled it off. Several tubes ran from an IV stand down to his foreleg.

**He had never liked needles. **

**Willow snorted. t like to wake up like that.**Wait, what?t quite sure about the look on WillowWhy did you need to feed me?You were asleep for quite a while,How long?t like the sound of that.

Willow shrugged.

**He pulled the IV from his leg. How had he been asleep for three weeks? Last thing he remembered was being in confinement. **

**s what I said,**Turns out after nearly dying of suffocation, your body put itself into something very similar to a coma; it had something to do with the virus in your system as well. Your body basically went into emergency shutdown mode. I could have caught it earlier and prevented your little nap but I was

**Moon spat. **

**Willow glared back. **

**The two mares were now nose and nose with each other. **

**Sunny cut in before the mares could start an argument. **

**Willow looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Sunny balked at her. she added hastily. **

**This was ridiculous. He had been living normally all his life and now all of a sudden he had been bitten, held in confinement for being bitten, suffocated, and then killed and brought back to life. Well, he assumed they had brought him back considering he was definitely, not dead. **

**Willow threw a sideways glance to a brooding Moon. t been for Moon you would be dead.t think of anything to say. His mind was still reeling. He had died! He had been not-alive for however long it had been. Just the thought of it felt stranger than the effects of a healing potion. He had actually been dead. Then brought back to life again. Just thinking about it felt, wrong. **

**Moon looked sheepish. She chuckled. Willow things before anything else happened. I **

**Sunny smiled at Moon. This mare had saved his life. If it wasn**You saved my life.I wouldn** Sunny had tried to roll over but Willow planted a hoof on his belly. t moved for three weeks. Give yourself a little while to recover.**Come on. I havent just sit ** Sunny looked pleadingly up at Willow who only laughed harder. She leaned up against Moon for support. **

**t see anything wrong with you,**As far as I can tell you** Both mares cracked up and Moon flopped down next to him with tears in her eyes. Willow lost her balance and landed on top of her. **

**s so funny?****waking up to find out he had died and come back to life. Now there were two giggling mares rolling around on the floor while he could only watch. he asked a cackling Willow. **

**Willow pulled herself together long enough to give a response. she chuckled. Sunny tried to climb to his hooves one last time but failed miserably. With nothing else he could do, Sunny stopped trying to get up. He sighed as the two mares laughed at him. He didn **

**Well, at least the two mares were getting along. **

**Sunny asked Moon as they walked down a semi-dark hallway. **

**Moon shrugged. s Willow. Don **

**It had been three days since Sunny had awoken in the recovery room. Nothing had really changed while he was in his coma-like thingy; Willow had said something more medicine-y but he hadnt seem to have any motives other than to try and take a bite out of whatever moved. **

**He wondered why they didnlike there was some strange way they knew whether or not you were one of them. Just thinking about it was enough to send shivers down his spine. If this really was an apocalypse, he had thought it all wrong. This was boring. Sure he was alive, and that was what mattered most. But being alive was almost, boring. Sometimes he would find himself wishing something would happen, only to strike the thought down. If something happened, it was going to be bad and that was the last thing they needed. **

**He knew they wouldnthat was obvious, but not thinking about it was much easier. Nopony liked to think about the day when they might die. Strangely, it didns agenda, but really, it just felt like a thing that was coming, like that monday on the calendar where you had to pay bills but didnyou knew it was bad and you knew you had to do something, but you just say back until monday anyways. **

**Moon stopped walking, one hoof still in the air. she whispered. **

**He silently took back his thoughts of something happening. He didn**Listen.I think it** he whispered, looking up at the roof. It sounded like it was coming from the vents, definitely somewhere ahead of them. As it grew closer Sunny could hear the sound of metal banging and groaning. Neither of the two moved as the sound passed over them and continued on down the hall. **

**Moon was crouched low to the ground as if she were expecting something to spring at her. **

**t know... Something big.t hear it anymore, it seemed almost worse**You donDont know. Come on, we need to get to that thing. Whatever it is Willow wanted to do. We can tell her about it when we get .he was scared even. They passed the elevator and set off for the stairwell; Moon said Willow had shut down the elevator to conserve energy. The two climbed up to level five and left the stairwell. Another hallway stretched away in either direction. They turned left towards the room Willow had told them shes what ponies thought clean looked like. Thatt be the only reason. Maybe white was comforting to most ponies. Or maybe white paint was just cheap.

**Moon squealed and Sunny nearly jumped clear through the roof. Willow stood looking at them from an open doorway **

**t do that, Willow,**It

**t creeping. I was just standing here quietly.**Come on, everypony else is already here.t know. Sunny took a seat across from Dusty, and Moon sat down beside him.

Willow walked around to the head of the table before taking her seat. m assuming everypony knows why we** she said. **

**From the baffled looks she received, Sunny was pretty sure that most of them didn**What ah is why you made me come up here when ah could be sleepin,** Dusty jabbed. **

**Willow shot him a glare. t want anypony else to know we are having a meeting.**So I** Sunny asked raising a hoof; Moon batted it out of the air. **

**Willow nodded. s why I have called you all here to speak with me.**We are going to be leaving.t seem to care was Brick; his expression remaining flat.

**Dusty gaped. **

**Moon was gazing at Willow as if she had suggested they all start eating foals. t see why you would want, or even need to leave. Have you looked out a window? Those things are everywhere out there!**Yeah, I** Sunny added, **

**Fire seemed to glow in the white mare**I know how ridiculous it sounds, but hear me out. I have been checking up on things, and I think that if we don** Now that she had everypony**Go on,You got all this attention. Now make do with I went around and checked the buildingre getting suspicious. But we

**Moon burst in. ve only been here a little under one.**Exactly,For one, wem not the only one that thought of this place running out of food. It was pretty obvious. I** Willow looked around at the now worried looking ponies. **Well, give or take a few , a few hours isn** She looked back to the rest of them, her eyes worried and serious. **

**Sunny said. He had heard stories about ponies who had ran out of food. **

**Willow stomped her hoof on the table. s food supply runs out? A riot. Ponies will start going to the extreme just for the tiniest scraps of food.**She** Dusty added. here. A lot more cut off than others. The food was shipped monthly to the town by a group of caravans. Well one time the shipment never arrived ant comin,**When ponies get hungry, they get , you think ponies would try and work together to survive in a case like this?Moon,I know yout be such an optimist. The second somepony sounds the alarm on the food supply, and trust me, its why we need to get out before it did you pick us? I mean there

**Willow actually smiled. **

**Moon smiled fakely. **

**Willow snapped at Moon. re going to need ponies who can hold their own.t addressing anypony in particular anymore**From what I have seen so far I** Dusty nodded. **

**Snowglobe muttered. m the fixer pony.**And Brick is... Well, he** As Willow finished Moon seemed to boil beside Sunny. **

**Moon spoke slowly, irritation seeping into every syllable. **

**Willow banged her hoof on the table. s the main reason I called you all in tonight. To see if you wanted to. But I can tell you this. If you stay here, you are going to die. There is no maybe. The food will run out. And you will either be killed by a mob, zombie ponies, or starvation, maybe even all three at once if things get really bad.**You know she** She turned to look at him. he added. She glared for a moment before looking down at the table. **

**m with you,**Things are gonna hit the fan, and ah

**Snowglobe spoke up. ll go. It want my life to end here.**I** Sunny added. **

**Moon nodded. m in too.** about Brick?He** She shrugged. s settled. We leave tonight.**Tonight?Uh, ah** Dusty asked. **

**Willow pointed a hoof at him. She gave a little nod to Snowglobe. **

**Snowglobe cleared her throat. **

**Willow took over. s down in the basement. Big heavy metal door.**I dons ever been opened but its the other thing. That door

**Dusty stood up, apparently satisfied. s the plan?**Is there a plan?I was getting to that.s direction. re going to leave, we need medical supplies, food, and preferably, ! I have a shotgun in my ?Really!I got it from a pony , need to get out of here before daylight. The last thing we need is ponies waking up and seeing what we** She pointed a hoof at Snowglobe. **

**Sunny said. This didn**We

**Willow sighed. s going to run out no matter what. The point is, we need food. The only thing we **

**re going to die.t right. He wanted to leave, but he couldn**Fine,Im sorry, Sunny. I feel just as bad about this as you do, but there honestly isn

**Sunny thought about it for a moment. He felt bad for even thinking it, but Willow was right. No matter how much he wanted to save those ponies there was no easy or rational way to do so. But Willowtell them how to open the gates so they could at least get out to get eaten rather than die of starvation in here... This wasns idea was the best. **

**Dusty gave him a nudge. s get going.**I want everypony down there in an hour. If yout leave you behind so I

**Dusty nodded seriously, but Sunny couldn**Ouch!What was that for?For being you. Now get Sunny?Yeah?Don** She smiled mischievously. **

**Sunny gawked. Did she just? He glanced over to the two mares who still weren**Stop standing going. One hour, Sunny!Right.t. His mind was still reeling when he caught up with the light blue pegasus.

s the plan?Well as ah see it

**Sunny chuckled. **

**Dusty looked at him defensively. it simple.**I need some saddlebags or something,Don** Dusty drawled. **

**Sunny knew by now that the cafeteria was just down this hall. Hardly any light filled the dark passage. Along with the elevator, the hall lights had been turned off as well. Now, only a single fixture shone brightly midway down the hall ahead. Sunny definitely needed to find himself something to carry food in. Dusty would be good**What** Dusty turned to look at him, his eyes shadowed in the darkness. **

**Sunny teased. **

**Dusty frowned. at our current situation ah **

**They had reached the cafeteria. Dusty turned and pushed through the door and Sunny followed right behind. **

**Sunny muttered. **

**Dusty nodded towards the counter. d bet it would be somewhere back there.**Ah reckon this is StorageThink we should have asked Willow for the key? are you going to do? Ask it nicely to open?Pretty much,Are you crazy?Everypony in the building must have heard didn

**Sunny nickered. s just get that food before somepony decides to come and see what that sound was.t kidding. They really were almost out of food. Most of the pallets and boxes were empty. Really the only things left were the cans and a few bags of wheat and corn. **

**As Dusty had predicted, there was a set of barding hanging on the wall just inside the door. Sunny pulled it down and slipped into it. He shrugged; it wasnt used to wearing anything more than the occasional satchel. It even had places where he could slip his wings through. The barding covered his flanks, the black material clashing with his orange coat but blending with his mane. **

**Dusty, who had been looking around at some of the shelves looked over to him. he teased. that matches your mane.**Now that you mention it, it kindat it?It doesnll bags would probably impair flight, not that it really mattered to him.

He took a can in his mouth and dropped it into one of the bags. Dusty started doing the same on his end of the room.

**Dusty huffed. He peered at a can. ly eat this stuff?**What do you think** he asked. **

**Dusty continued collecting cans, sweeping them into his bags with his wing. mad ant even that far gone yet. From what ah can guess, it pretty.**Thanks, what?What are you thankin

**Sunny looked at Dusty, Now feeling quite awkward. t shot that pony off me in the street, I would have died out there.**Dont just sit back and watch it happen. Besides,Ah ?Well, if you hadnd have never even spared you a second glance. Remember how you asked me to fly you to the hospital? If you hadna been left out there with the rest of ,Never really thought about it that way.t respond so Sunny swept the applesauce into his bag and moved on to attack the corn. He remembered that flight now. Had he not been in a state of panic and pain, he probably would have squirmed out of the pegasusDid you hear that?t move, his eyes darted all around the room.

**Sunny asked. **

**he whispered. Sunny tilted his head to one side, trying to hear whatever it was Dusty was hearing. His ears perked as he picked up the sound. He knew that sound. It was the same sound he had heard in the hallway with Moon earlier. **

**Sunny crouched low to the ground. s in the roof,s eyes rolled up until he was looking at the tiled ceiling above him. **

**He shook his light brown mane away from his eyes. **

**Sunny opened his mouth to say something but the roof above them groaned. Dusty drew his revolver and pointed it at the ceiling. he murmured around the handle in his mouth. The ceiling sagged and the two ponies backed away. **

**Sunny yelled as the entire ceiling collapsed, sending plaster and whatever else was up there raining down on them. He watched as Dusty disappeared behind a sheet of raining plaster. **

**Moon and Snowglobe trotted down the dark hallway side by side, tossing anxious glances around. **

**Snowglobe said from beside Moon. A bright green glow emanated from her horn, lighting their path. **

**s a cool trick.s horn in an attempt to sway the conversation. d you learn to do that?**Oh, that. My mother taught it to me when I was just a foal. I was afraid of the dark, so...She showed me a way to make it go away

**Moon marveled. Moon thought back to when she had been in the dark hallway. It would have been nice to know that spell then. She counted off the numbers on the doors as they walked on. **

**d like.**Really?Yeah. It** A lock of her purple mane fell into her face. Snowglobe tossed her head and flipped it back with the rest. **

**Moon stopped in front of her door. s in here.**Kay.t know much about guns but this one looked like it must have been made for unicorns only. There wasnt know much about guns, but she knew enough. This was a double barrel. She levitated out one of the empty shells and examined it. Twelve gauge, one of the big ones. She pulled out the other shell to see that it hadnSnowglobe?t see the mare anywhere. The only thing she could hear was the creepy banging in the vents she and Sunny had heard earlier. **The darkness was starting to get to her again. Something moved in the edge of her vision, and without thinking, she swung the butt of the weapon. There was a and the little shape darker than the rest cried out and thudded to the floor. **

**moaned the shape on the floor. **

**Moon asked. **

**she groaned. **

**Moon helped her up. m so sorry. You snuck up on me.**Can you hear that sound too?You mean in the roof?Yeah,Jeez, Moon... You hit me really ,t meant to hit her. Well, technically she had, but that was before she knew that Snowglobe was Snowglobe.

**Snowglobe took an unsteady step forward. s go.**Think you could get that light going again?Maybe.t as bright as it had been before. But it stayed. **She gasped. s a lot harder when your head **

**Moon muttered for a third time. The stairwell was just ahead now. Something banged in the vents above them and both mares squealed. **

**s something big up there.t see anything beyond Snowglobeshe could feel it. And it wasn**What was that?We need to get to the that light going,s grasp and it clattered to the floor.

Snowglobe stared wide-eyed at the still shape on the floor. **she squeaked. **

**Moon levitated the shotgun up from the ground. m pretty sure I fired both barrels into it... I didn The gun felt like it had kicked her very brain. she added. **

**Snowglobe scoffed. The shape on the floor twitched and Snowglobe shrieked, pedaling backwards until she fell against Moon. **

**The bloodied shape rose to its hoovest get back up. **

**Moon pushed Snowglobe away; the gray mare seemed to be trying to hide underneath her. The two headed forwards again, stepping around the dead zombie pony on the floor. A moment later they reached the stairwell. **

**Moon gasped as they descended the stairs. **

**re in the vents,**Thanks,Thereve been hearing those sounds all over the building do we get to the basement?This stairwell doesn** Snowglobe trotted over to the door and pushed it open. **

**Moon asked. **

**Snowglobe stuck her head out the door and looked around. Moon trotted up to look out beside her. Snowglobe didnt see anything at all. **

**Cautiously they both left the stairwell and proceeded to cross the lobby. Snowglobe murmured as they walked slowly through the darkness. **

**Moon looked at her. re down here too?**I don** Snowglobe didn**The ventilation runs everywhere throughout this building. If theyd end up down , that** Moon chuckled. She looked up at the ceiling to make sure there weren**Hey Snowglobe?Yeah?Do you have any idea how they could have gotten in?I have a hunch. The intakes for the ventilation are on the roof. That pony we saw was a you think zombie pegasi can fly?I think so. Willow told me that the virus kills a unicornt see why a pegasus wouldn makes sense. But herethis building was made to keep things in, not out. And we zombie pony things out. So Ire getting in somewhere on the Celestia... look at them.s gaze to the barrier at the entrance. re here,What could do this to a pony?Snowglobe, I wouldn** Moon warned. **

**The mare ignored her; she moved closer still until she was less than a foot away. re thinking. A pink mare snarled and snapped at her through the metal grating. She shoved her muzzle through the gate until blood blossomed from where the metal dug into her skin. **

**re doing!?t noticed him when they approached; she had been too busy looking at the ponies outside. He sat in the back of his crashed wagon with a yellow mare. **

**Moon gasped, still frightened from the sudden shock. **

**the green pony scoffed. **

**Snowglobe cocked her head. s so important?**Look, I dons going on. Things are about to hit the fan. Just look at the signs, theyre almost out of resources and you know it.I knew from the moment I saw that white mare have a breakdown in the square we had to leave. She was just like the ones from Canterlot. That** She pointed a hoof towards the barrier. She glared at the green pony next to her. She scoffed. re in. Well tell you this, we arent about to die here.**You have food! Don

**The yellow mare drew a pistol and pointed it at Moon, who in turn raised the shotgun. **Oh, youll be know this is wrong!I don** he shouted, voice echoing around the lobby. t you dare tell anypony!**Moon, weNo,I have a gun; your mare has a gun. If she shoots, only two ponies out of the four here are walking , we really need to get to the hold on a are you two going to the basement for?None of your concern!If you two are going to do something that

**Moon shook with sustained anger. The shotgun was feeling very light right about now, and the trigger seemed tempting. **

**Snowglobe insisted. **

**Moon ignored her, too angry at the green stallion to take her eyes away. t think ponies would like to know about you little stash?**Don

**Snowglobe bellowed. **

**All of them fell silent and looked at the flustered Snowglobe. **

**She looked up at the ceiling, trembling. **

**ll be able to carry?**I** she chided. **

**They reached the door marked medical storage and Willow tried to levitate the keys from her barding. She groaned; she had forgotten that her magic was still dead. At least the effects of that drug she had taken had worn off. She felt mostly normal again, and she was no longer falling over every ten seconds. she wondered. Unicorn magic is one of the most powerful forces in Equestria, and this virus just snuffed it out like a candle. Once she had seen a mare who had actually managed to break her horn. The poor mare had been in terrible shape. It was as if something had died inside her when she had broken her horn. **

**Willow thought back on it. When the mare arrived she hadnt understand how earth and pegasus ponies could do everything with just their hooves and mouths and the small amount of magic they possessed internally, conjurable through their hooves. **

**The key fit and she pushed open the door. This was one of the few rooms that always stayed lit. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with every kind of medicine imaginable, plenty of bandages and disinfectants as well, also healing potions and a lot of other magical remedies. **

**Willow found that she preferred the medicine over magic, but both worked about the same. Only magic did most of the work for you. But where was the skill in just making a pony drink a purple potion and have everything be all better? Sometimes a pony would request one or the other, and in very few rare cases only one or the other would work. **

**In the corner of the room sat two metal crates. They were rectangular with rounded edges. Both crates were about the length of her middle and if she stood next to one of them it would come about halfway up to her knees. Those were definitely coming with them. That drug had worked on her. She silently thanked the ponies who had accidentally shipped those crates to this hospital, instead of wherever they were supposed to be going, and then thanked Mitsy for forgetting to file the paperwork to send them back. If it hadn100mlThis right here,This could be the start of a cure.**Hey Brick,Find a way to carry ** Willow murmured as she looked over rows upon rows of supplies. Willow trotted around the room and started stocking her bags while Brick tried to figure out a way to carry the two cases. **

**She carefully added a case of the liquid to her bag. Willow always talked to herself, she didn**Let** Willow headed over to another shelf. re worth.t even think she had been alive when ponies actually used stitches. Healing potions and spells worked just fine for cuts and gashes. No, she wouldnt ever been any good, and they always tired her out really fast. Willow sighed; if her magic didnt be any need to know them anyways. It had been almost a month now and she could barely coax a spark from her horn. The last time it had worked at all was back when Sugar Apple had been chasing her. **

**she muttered glumly. She turned to look at Brick. He had rigged up a kind of sling so that the metal cases hung on either side of him. His normal saddlebags were slung atop those. **

**Willow complimented. Brick just shrugged and collected a few things from the shelf in front of him. s everything. Feel free to point out anything I missed.**All right then.t bother to lock the door. It was not like they would be coming back. The two set off down the hallway in the low light. She looked up at the ceiling; if they hadnevery hallway in this building was, and considering this building was basically just rooms and hallwaysDo you hear that?What do you think it is?t hear the sound anymore so she figured it was gone. **she pressed. ve heard you do it before. Now why don Brick just shook his head. Willow sighed. **

**He used to talk. One would think that after knowing a pony your whole life he could at least talk to her. She couldnI have an idea.**You know,I really do like , you don** she added, trying to get a response. Nothing. Brick replied by shaking his head for a third time. **

**s laughing at me!**Stop that!t fair. He was teasing her! Willow wanted to kick him.

She sighed and they continued walking in silence.

They were nearing the end of this particular hall now. Up ahead it merged with yet another hallway. Now she could definitely hear something. Apparently Brick could too because he stopped and readied his flashlight. Willow perked her ears. It sounded like two sets of hoofsteps. And from the ruckus they were making she figured that the two ponies must be in a hurry.

A moment later two ponies rounded the corner towards them. Brick flipped on his light, illuminating the two shapes. Willow and Brick dodged to the side as the two ponies skidded by. They came to a stop, whirling around the face them.

s you two,What happened to you two? It looks like you both got in a fight with a sack of ** Dusty waved her comment away. now!**How did that thing get in here?Ah don

**Sunny layered his voice with sarcasm. **

**m pretty sure ah may have noticed.**You know, considerin need to go.I dons the only what gives you that positive idea? Dusty muttered.

Sunny collected a few more cans. s a whole lot more of them outside, and if one found its way in, I could bet you more will too. Also, when I was on the fourth floor with Moon, we heard banging in the ,Ah reckon we should be getting to the basement ** Sunny asked as they rounded a corner. **

**course we the blue pegasus shot back. **

**Sunny froze**Do you hear that?Yes ah that vent over there?You don** he asked. **

**Dusty nodded and drew his revolver. he slurred around the bit. The banging above grew louder until it was almost above them. The vent cover ahead of them burst open and clattered to the floor. A white pegasus flopped out of the ceiling to land in a heap. Dusty didnt even explain it very well. It sounded like somepony dropping an egg on a tile floor, but a lot louder. **

**Dusty holstered his gun. t no cowpony. Try trainpony.**Really?Yep, ah may be good with a gun, but ah can do other things too you yeah. I just never thought you would be a trainpony. I kind of just thought of you as that pony who shoots a who shoots a gun, huh?I didn** he added quickly. **

**snapped Dusty from beside him. Eyes looking atnothing. **

**Sunny was worried he had done something to anger the pegasus. m s **

**Dusty silenced him with a hoof across his mouth. he whispered. Sunny did as he was told. He could hear hoofsteps. Check that, a lot of hoofsteps, from below them. Sunny jumped, startled by Dusty**But don** Sunny yelled over the pounding of their hooves. **

**get dead!**What if they aren** Sunny gasped, turning onto the next flight. **

**t going to take too kindly to us takin came Dusty**Dusty, for the love of Celestia, stop going up!Hurry up damn it!Never again,To answer your question, yes, zombie ponies. But if you still aren

**t just really...**...really want to get out?Cause, ahRight,That makes ! They

**The blue pegasus looked around. Sunny pointed a hoof up towards the ceiling and his eyes followed. Dusty groaned. **

**Sunny chuckled and pushed himself up on all four hooves. He shied away from it as it shook again. The two set off again. This time a little more winded than before. Dusty strafed a dead pegasus zombie fallen on the right of the hallway. **

**t the only ones who he murmured, rubbing against the left wall to avoid the dead pony. **

**Sunny spared a glance at it and immediately wished he hadn he disappeared. **

**No, he didnt these places supposed to be safe or something? he considered. There were a bunch of zombie ponies crawling through the vents and falling out of the roof. Maybe that had something to do with it. **

**a voice growled. Sunny looked down to see the light blue pegasus pinned below him, his head twisted around to glare at him. **

**Sunny rolled off the pegasus. t hurt as bad as I thought it would.**Well thank your you cushion,t understand why he felt so happy right now. Now was not a time to feel happy. They were shooting zombie ponies and falling through ceilings. Why was he so happy? Sunny reached out a hoof to pat Dusty. re going a little soft. Can

**Dusty glared. ll buck you so hard that your grandkids **

**he quickly replied, looking around. Neither of them had died in the fall so he guessed they hadn** don

**A crash resounded somewhere upstairs and Sunny shied away from the hole in the ceiling. t do that. It might actually happen.**You look like a ghost,You don** He frowned. s just about time ah started makin **

**s just focus on getting to the basement before you make my grandchildren bleed. Okay?**Fine, it can we have to run?I thought we just finished , ah dons gonna last ,that makes , thank Celestia it

**Willow snorted. Both Willow and Brick looked like they had grabbed their fair share of goods too. Willowt be the only one to get a good bucking tonight. s a long story, but we need to get goin, Dusty pushed **

**He made to set off but Willow didn**Why, what happened?They got in.I don** He was tired; he may have been a little out of shape, but he could still handle himself fairly well. But running up two levels of stairs loaded down with canned food seemed to be an exception. **

**Willow mused. **

**Dusty replied. He chuckled. heavy.**Why the hay were you going up?t quite as tired. **he added. **

**Willow stomped her hoof. From the look on her face Sunny assumed she had a pretty good idea. **

**Dusty shook his mane and white dust rained down around him. a big deal about gettin **

**Willow looked horrified. **

**Dusty scoffed. t jump outta try to eat me.**It appears we have a few problems then** She winced as something crashed on the floor above. **

**Dusty groaned. that would be the door not bein He looked over at Sunny. **

**Willow looked around frantically. **

**isn Dusty looked over to Sunny who nodded. in there... well, we had em **

**Willow looked like she wanted to pound them into the ground. **

**Sunny cut across the dusty pegasus before he could reply. s nice to sit here and yell at each other, but we really need to get going before those things find the hole we made.**Right, let** He and Sunny started forward, closely followed by Willow and Brick. **

**Willow trotted up alongside Dusty. t you just say you locked a bunch of them in the stairwell?**Well yeah. But judging from that sound we just heard upstairs, ah donre in the stairwell said you two ran up two flights of stairs? From the second level?If you locked them in the stairwell after going up two flights of stairs you would be on the fourth took a one way !?There isn

**Sunny said bluntly. Willow still looked just as curious but didn**This place may be old,But that doesn

**Dusty muttered. **

**The stairs were just ahead now; the door appeared in Brickt collapse. There was a scream from behind them, much louder than the rest of the sounds. Brick jumped around and shone his light down the hall behind him. A purple unicorn was being dragged down the hall by her tail. A zombie pegasus pulled her backwards, shaking his head and jerking the mare around as he pulled her away. Dusty drew his revolver and fired. He missed on the first shot but the second stuck its mark and the crazed pony dropped. **

**The mare cowered on the ground. Sunny yelled. She looked up, startled. **

**She picked herself up and galloped towards them as if another zombie was right on her tail. she whimpered, looking around wildly as if she was searching for another one that could jump out at her. **

**s go.**Stairs, now!What was that?t hear anything. Dusty had been right, they werenQuiet.s mouth.

**They set off down the stairs, Dusty once again taking the lead. But they had only made it halfway down the first flight before the purple mare, who had been traveling at the back, froze in place. s that?**What** Sunny stopped to listen, as did the others. t hear anything.**It** she whispered, pressing her ear up against the wall next to her. Seemingly without warning, the wall burst open and the mare screamed as a blue zombie pegasus reared up at her. Before Sunny could even react it sprung at her, snarling. She screamed again as it forced her backwards into the railing. She leaned back trying to avoid its snapping jaws and both her and the zombie pony toppled backwards over the railing. **

They** He looked around at the others, all on different levels of the stairs. They looked just as shocked as he did. Even Brick**C-come on,Thanks,t prepared to see it. The purple mare lay dead, her neck twisted at an awkward angle. The zombie pony next to her was no better off. Dusty muttered something under his breath as Willow slowly shook her head.

m Worried about Moon and you think they made it?I dont have anything to do so itRight,So why do the stairs stop here? How do we get to the basement?I was getting to that. The staircase to the basement is on the other side of the well that** Dusty scoffed. **

**t know what it Willow turned to Brick. she drawled. t working so I Brick glared at her. she added hastily, turning to Dusty. she asked **

**he replied. **

**Willow looked around at the three of them. They all nodded. She paced over to the door and pushed it open. Brick filled the space next to her, lighting the way ahead. Willow looked back at them. Slowly she stepped out into the lobby. Sunny and Dusty both followed. The lobby was completely dark except for the light from Brick**Looks like they** he murmured. The others followed his gaze and Sunny heard Willow curse under her breath. **

**she growled. **

**re in the vents,**Been hearing all these bangint seen a single earth or unicorn zombie makes sense. But how did they get in?Looks like we aren** They continued forward to find two more bodies behind the wagon. They looked like they had been shot trying to climb up in the back. **

**Slowly, they approached the wagon from the side. Willow held out a hoof. Sunny was really tired of hearing ponies say that. Every time somepony said something bad always happened. s something back there,t of pointed it out, he never would have noticed. He could definitely hear something; he couldn**Ah got Dusty,Who turned on the lights!?Damn cans,Sunny look out!t really even turned yet. The bite he had given him was probably only a nibble compared to what this one could do. The zombie pony immediately spun around and made another lunge for him from behind. Sunny was forced to drop onto his belly to avoid being caught in its menacing jaws. He saw Dusty scrabbling across the ground for his pistol. The pegasus didns why he had fallen through the roof. Sunny felt a weight land on his back and he tried to pull forward. But he couldns grasp was like iron. Dusty reached his gun and pointed it at him from the ground. He aimed down the sights, his head only inches from the ground.

So many things were happening that Sunny was finding it hard to process it all, his brain seeming to move in slow motion. Brick had his pistol ready and was training it on the pony on his back. Willow stood wide-eyed watching the whole scene unfold. Dusty fired. He shot me, he shot me! Sunny kept screaming in his mind. Why would he shoot me? Sunny screamed and pulled free of the weight on his back. He jumped around to face it, prepared to ready himself for what it did next. And it was dead, a clean hole through the left side of its chest. Sunny looked around at the rest of them. Brick shrugged and dropped his pistol back into his bag. Willow stood still as a statue.

**Sunny gasped; he turned to look at Dusty who had managed to get himself back to his hooves. re crazy.** was a little skeptical bout

**Willow asked. **

**Sunny trotted over to the cart, trying not to think about where Dusty had been aiming. He jumped at a rattling sound behind him and turned to see dozens of zombie ponies throwing themselves against the barrier. **

**t worry,**They can** Sunny climbed up into the back of the wagon and looked around. He really didn**Look, I foumd a how to use it?Short

**Dusty nickered. try an **

**Sunny reached back and dropped the gun in a side pocket in his barding. t worry,**Doesns you I should be worried must have made a last stand here or something. I found the gun next to him.t imagine thinking of any more ponies he had known being dead.

Dusty looked sadly at the defeated pony. s for sure.t even know if he could kill one of thoset right, they still looked like ponies. For the love of Celestia, they still had cutie marks! They used to be ponies; just like him. Normal ponies just like him, who had been turned into crazy, mindless, biting monsters. Except unlike them, he couldnt he just died out there with the rest of the townsponies? He was nothing special. It was just pure luck that he had found Notebook in the park. If it hadnt of run into Willow and Brick the very next day. Yeah, he was basically alive off of luck and more luck.

A chilling thought suddenly struck him. What if all of this had happened because of him? He was the one who had gotten in a fight with Moon over a box of muffins, then chose to go to the park, where he had later found Notebook. What if they had never found Notebook? Would he have just died there? Or gotten up and stumbled away from town? Had having Moon go get the hospital ponies to take the sick pony into the middle of town doomed them all? Maybe, if he had never found Notebook, they wouldnHere we are.t fair. He wasnt even fly. Why did he deserve to be like this when there were so many other ponies that were much more worthy?

They were nearing the bottom of the stairs now. Another door loomed just ahead. Brick put away his light, plunging them all into darkness. A moment later the door ahead swung open bathing the hallway in dull yellow light. Immediately, a deafening hum filled the air, echoing around the narrow space.

It was a weird feeling. Sunny figured the basement would be dark. But upon entering the basement it appeared quite bright. Yellow lamps hung from the roof, casting their dull, yet still bright light across the dank walls. The deafening hum came from one of two large shapes in the center or the room. He looked around for Moon, but he couldnWhere** he asked over the sound of the giant machine. **

**Willow raised a hoof and pointed towards a spot on the other end of the room. A shelf had been toppled, spilling cans of paint and cleaning supplies across the floor. A wooden door was located where the shelf must have previously been standing. she called. **

**s Moon and Snowglobe!?t missed them. **

**Willow looked around as well. Along with Sunny, she also seemed worried. t know! But I think we should check that door before we get too worried! That shelf wasnll bet they **

**Sunny nodded. Together they crossed the room, passing the noisy machines. Sunny was the first to reach the door, having to step over scattered debris and spilt paint to reach it. He reached out a hoof and pushed on the door; it swung open without resistance. The door opened to a small room. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw both Moon and Snowglobe sitting on a cushion near the far wall. **

**Moon jumped up and headed over to greet him. she said happily. **

**Sunny replied as the rest of the ponies behind him filed in. Willow, who was the last through, shut the door. The sound of the loud machine was immediately extinguished. Sunny was slightly surprised to see that Moon had crimson stains on her coat, as if she had tried to wash out what he assumed was blood, but couldns lounge or something. Some seats sat against the far wall and fake plants sat in the corners. Sunny had never really understood why ponies liked fake plants so much. They just smelt like plastic. He figured the big metal door at one end was the way out. The room had carpet that had seen better days and the walls were a dirty white. His attention was drawn to a yellow earth pony mare in the corner. She was on her belly, her head resting on her hooves. Her eyes gazed sightlessly at a patch of wall. Well, eye, the other eye was obscured by her orange mane. **

**s she?**Oh, I** She murmured, before dropping her head back to her hooves. It looked like she had been crying. **

**Willow asked her, appearing next to him to cast a worried look at the mare. Sunny looked back at Moon, who just looked down at her hooves. Snowglobe seemed to be intent on examining the plastic plant. **

**Butter Blossom sniffed. she asked. **

**Dusty added with a little flap of his wings. The mare buried her face in her hooves and whimpered. **

**Willow scolded quietly. She snapped the blue pegasus with her tail. **

**he muttered. hurts.**W-was there a g-green one there?t watch anymore. He turned away and walked over to Moon who was now Helping Snowglobe watch the plant imposter. He was shaken, but it didnt collapsed crying like a foal yet. What was holding him together? It had to be something.

He approached Moon and gave her a nudge.

**Moon nodded. **Yep,Down and do you and Dusty look so

**Sunny looked back at his own coat. It was still full of plaster and whatever else had come from the roof. His normal black mane looked gray. he chuckled halfheartedly. Moon just nodded. **

**Moon sniffed. t for that green stallion we may have not made it down here.**We left him to die,Itm just happy that you made you guys the ones that turned the lights back on?That gemmy doesn

**He was hit by a sudden wave of despair. They had ran**Isn** he asked her pleadingly. t just leave them like that. Theyt even get out.**I would have done anything else I could have. Full power was the best I could do. I

Willow appeared beside them. re all lucky to be alive. If I hadnt even a word to describe how much luck we have right we live and they donre really lucky. Well that makes me feel is ridiculous. Bizarre!How did I get dragged into this?I** Moon jabbed. **

**Willow looked up at Moon, going cross-eyed. She waved an exasperated hoof in the air. **

**Snowglobe chided, she gave Willow a hearty nudge. ve forgotten, there are a whole lot of zombie ponies up there, ones that could easily manage to stumble down here. Besides, that door is electric. And I donre going to be in a heap of trouble.**Fine,Is that really a way out?We** Snowglobe called, trotting over to the door. Wither her magic; she opened a panel on the wall to reveal a switch. The switch was labeled with a big and sticker, with open at the bottom. Snowglobe asked, looking around at the six ponies, all waiting eagerly. Snowglobe almost seemed to bounce with excitement. **

**They all murmured their agreements and Snowglobe threw the switch. There was a clunk from somewhere inside the door and with a squeak and a groan; the heavy metal door swung open. A dark hallway loomed from the now open doorway. A single light bulb flickered to life just inside the entrance before flashing out. **

**Moon groaned. s convincing.**So, who wants to go down the dark scary hallway first?t as large as his normal one, but it still looked big enough to cast a fair light. He tossed to it Dusty who involuntarily caught it.

**the light blue pegasus groaned.**


	4. Chapter 4

"How long is this tunnel?" Sunny asked as he walked behind Dusty, who was still leading the group down the tunnel. He had no idea how long they had been walking for, but it felt like forever. "Heck, I don't know," Snowglobe answered from behind him. "Never been down here before." The tunnel was roughly the height of a pony, maybe with an inch or two to spare, and barely wide enough for two ponies to walk side by side. Dusty and Brick were leading them down the dark passage. Brick shone the flashlight ahead, illuminating what had been darkness for many years. Willow had gotten tired of not being able to understand Dusty so she had made Brick take the light. Sunny and Moon walked behind the two leading stallions. Sunny looked back at Willow who was behind him with Snowglobe. "Do you have any idea where this tunnel goes?" Willow just shrugged. "Don't ask me. I only found out about this place yesterday." Sunny looked past Willow to the yellow earth pony in her wake. Blossom didn't seem to be coping too well. She walked just far enough behind the group so that she was always submerged in semi-darkness. She barely seemed to pick her hooves up as she slinked along behind them. Sunny looked at Moon and motioned towards Blossom. She gave him a nod. He slowed to let Willow and Snowglobe squeeze by him and fell in stride beside the yellow earth pony. She was either pretending he wasn't there, or was so far off that she didn't realize he was there. "Are you okay?" he asked her. Sunny silently cursed himself. She just lost her husband. Of course she isn't okay! Blossom shook her head. "I should have stayed with him." Sunny thought for a moment. "It's alright," he finally comforted. "No it's not." She was crying now, fresh tears running down her cheeks. Sunny didn't know a thing about making ponies feel better. But he tried nonetheless. He slowed and Blossom did the same until they were hanging back in the darkness, away from the rest of the group. Even though they were in darkness the light from ahead shone back, providing enough light to see each other's faces. "I know you're feeling bad," he started awkwardly. He really wasn't any good at this at all. "But if you want to talk about something, I'd be happy to listen." He tried his best at a reassuring smile. Blossom sniffed. "I should have stayed with him," she repeated. "He died, just to save me." "What happened?" Sunny mentally scolded himself again. You're not supposed to make her recite it! You're supposed to try and get her mind away from it!" "We were in the lobby," she sniffed. Sunny couldn't tell her to stop now, he had just asked her to recite it. But he was wishing she would refuse to tell him herself. "Me and your friends were… talking. Then all of a sudden a whole bunch of those…" she trailed off, staring at her hooves. Sunny laid a gentle wing across her back and she lifted her head. "Then all of a sudden a bunch of those things just… just started falling out of the roof. There were so many of them, ten, maybe more. One of your friends had said something about the basement. We tried to head that way, but. There were way too many of them. So he…" She stumbled and pressed her head into his flank. "He grabbed my gun. And he ran the other way and… and all those things followed him." She sobbed into his flank. Sunny felt bad. He felt really bad for her. "It sounds like he saved all of you." "B-but I should have been with him," she sobbed back. "Hey listen," Sunny stalled, trying to think of a way to comfort the mare. Or at least try and comfort her. All he had managed to do so far was make her cry, and recite her husband's death. One heck of a therapist he was. "If he gave his life to save you then he must have expected you to survive. You can't fall apart now. Not after what he did. " Sunny gave a relieved sigh; his comment had seemed to comfort her a little. "I can't believe he's gone," she cried. Tears were still falling from her eyes. But at least she wasn't bawling into his flank anymore. "Yeah," Sunny muttered. "I can only guess." Blossom looked at him, wiping tears from her eyes with a forehoof. "You haven't ever lost anypony?" Sunny shook his head. "No, honestly, I don't even know how I'm coping. I went through life never having to deal with anything important at all. Never lost anypony, never had to make a hard decision, definitely never shot somepony. Then all of a sudden ponies are eating each other and I've been bitten, suffocated, killed, and then brought back to life again." She gaped. "You got bitten?" He nodded and Blossom took a startled step away from him. "You can't be with us." She gasped. "You know what's going to happen." "But I'm immune," he added quickly. Blossom lowered her gaze with him, looking skeptical. The mare looked both sad and questioning at the same time. The two different expressions just didn't seem to fit together. "I haven't ever heard of ponies being immune. How do I know you aren't infected?" "Because I got bit almost a month ago, and I'm not trying to eat you. And do you see a fresh wound anywhere on me?" Blossom frowned, seeming to contemplate what he had just said. She lowered her guard, but still looked a little cautious. "It must be nice," she murmured, looking down at her hooves. "If I knew that I could never turn into one of… them, to know that you couldn't become that." Sunny shrugged. "It's not like I'm invincible or something. It still hurts when they bite you… like, a lot," he added. She shuddered. "I never want to see another pony get bitten ever again." Sunny gave her a curious glance. "We were in Canterlot," she explained, "when strange things started happening. Everypony was talking about this group of crazy ponies who had rampaged down the streets the day before. Nopony knew what it was about. The next morning some mare was pounding on my door. She was all bloody and was crying. But I was afraid to open the door, cause' I had heard about the crazy ponies, and she seemed pretty crazy. Then this other pony came up behind her and jumped on her. I remember just standing by the door, listening to her scream as the pony bit at her. And I was too scared to open the door. I realized, if things like that were actually happening out there, I didn't want to be anywhere near there. So that's when we decided to leave. We were almost out of the city when the REA showed up. At first they tried to stop ponies who were leaving, but after a while they just stared shooting ponies. They would do this thing where they would look at their eyes. And sometimes they would shoot a pony after they did it. But pretty soon, so many crazy ones started running at them that the REA just started shooting. They let us out before that happened. They were still trying to safely evacuate the city after we had gotten out. But there were way too many sick ponies. After a while they just started shooting anypony who tried to leave. It was terrible." "Jeez," Sunny awed. "That is terrible." A thought struck his mind. "Back in the square, why did your husband say that, last you two heard, they were evacuating the city? It sounds like you know what happened." Blossom sniffed. "He was trying not to scare anypony. Imagine how they would have reacted if he had told ponies that the REA were just shooting ponies." "I guess that makes sense." Sunny looked on ahead, thinking. "Yeah," she added. "I've already seen my fair share of messed up things. Not too many ponies out this way know how bad things really are." They walked in silence for a moment. "So are you feeling alright now?" Sunny finally asked her. Blossom nodded. "I can't change what's happened. But I can't dwell on it either. I cried it out. Now, I think I'm done." She sniffed once. "Okay," Sunny smiled, trying to look optimistic. "I should probably catch up with Moon before she gets jealous that I'm talking to you and not her." Blossom actually chuckled. "That mare's a feisty one." "Why do you say that?" he asked. She smiled. "She has strong opinions. And she sticks to them. We weren't exactly getting along when… you know… lots of zombie ponies. Either way I think she was pretty close to shooting me" Sunny didn't want to press any further for fear of setting her off again. He and Blossom picked up the pace until they were trotting behind the group again. He was going to have to ask Moon about what her and Blossom hadn't been getting along about. And why Blossom said that Moon might have shot her. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't imagine Moon shooting anypony, or anything for that matter. He squeezed by Snowglobe to walk beside the blue mare again. "How'd it go?" Moon asked quietly. "I think she's going to be okay. She's just upset," he replied. Moon nodded. "I couldn't ever imagine losing a pony that close to me." He looked over at her, taking in her appearance in the in the semi-darkness. A shotgun was strapped to the side of her barding so that it hung down against her flank. And her coat was dotted with patches of smeared crimson. "How'd you end getting blood all over you?" He asked, motioning towards one of the larger crimson stains. Moon examined a spot on her flank. "It got a little nasty in the lobby." She nodded towards the shotgun, which also had blood on it as well. "I kind of had to use it… a little bit." Sunny looked into her eyes. He couldn't quite be sure in this light, but she almost looked, sad. Well, she probably was. What pony wouldn't be sad with all this stuff happening at once? But she was serious about the gun. He had to focus on not letting his mouth hang open. She had actually shot somepony. He reconsidered it. Not a pony, but, one of them. "Really?" he asked, trying to keep as much surprise out of his voice as possible. Even after knowing she had a gun, he still couldn't actually imagine her shooting one. Her shooting something was so… un-Moon-ish. He hadn't known her for that long, but she was a doctor. Doctors weren't supposed to shoot ponies. They were supposed to make them better, right? "Hey," the blue mare replied defensively. "I can handle myself you know." "I didn't mean it like that," he added quickly. "I meant, you just don't seem like the type of pony who would even think of touching a gun." Moon nodded solemnly. "Yeah, a month ago I would have agreed with you. But now, having it almost makes me feel safe." She looked down at her hooves then added, "It's not like I'm some crazy gun pony though." "I know," Sunny replied. "But there are a lot of crazy gun ponies. There was definitely one back in the hospital. Me and Dusty passed this zombie pony on the fourth floor that had been shot up. Like, really shot up. I mean, for the love of Celestia, they shot its leg off. And then they shot it in the head, or the other way around, couldn't tell." "Heh, yeah." Moon tensed. "Sounds like what a crazy gun pony would do." She half chucked then looked at her hooves. Snowglobe laughed from behind Moon. "Probly' somepony who likes to beat poor defenseless mares with a shotgun." Moon shot a heated glare back at Snowglobe. "And it's a good thing that pony stayed in the hospital," she growled. Snowglobe just chuckled again. "Am I missing something?" Sunny inquired. "No," Moon added quickly. "Let's just be glad we all made it out without any of us being either killed or bitten." Blossom sniffed and Moon cringed. "Mostly," She muttered under her breath. "Yeah," Willow agreed. "Two was enough." "Wait? Two?" Blossom asked, startled. "Yeah," Willow tossed her head back. "I got bit about a month ago." Sunny thought the way Willow moved was a little strange. Like her limbs were sore. Blossom pushed herself in between Willow and Snowglobe. "Hey," the gray mare muttered before dropping back to let Blossom take her place. "Are you immune too?" Blossom asked with a frown. Willow shook her head. "No, I cured myself," she replied simply. Blossom's mouth fell open. "What?" Blossom looked confused. The yellow mare just gaped. "You cured yourself?" She looked at Willow as if the mare had just exploded and glued herself back together again. "Yeah," Willow blinked a few times and shook her head. "Why? What's so strange about that?" Blossom explained, swallowing her shock, "When we were leaving Canterlot," Sunny looked around. Everypony was listening to the yellow mare. She continued, "We could hear the REA going crazy about an antidote. Well, trying to get one. That was back when they were still trying to contain sick ponies instead of just shooting them on sight." A few of them gasped at this and Sunny remembered that they hadn't heard what she had told him about Canterlot. "They had their medical ponies running around in a frenzy trying to find a cure for the sick ponies. If the REA couldn't find a cure then how they hay did you do it?" Willow seemed to inflate. "Experimental drug," she chided. Blossom chuckled dryly. "A small town hospital mare found a cure over all of the REA's best medical staff." "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Willow asked defensively. "Hey! Ah think we're nearing the end," Dusty called from ahead. "Ah can see a door." "What does it look like?" Sunny asked. Dusty tossed him a backwards glance. "Um… like a door," the pegasus replied. Moon giggled. Sunny flushed. That had been a pretty silly question. What does it look like? Come on Sunny. They all continued forward until they reached the end of the passage. Sunny looked at the door. It was made of metal, but not as heavy duty as the one that had been back in the hospital. Dusty stepped forward and gave the door an experimental push. "It's locked." He tried pulling instead of pushing, still to no effect. "Move." Willow pushed her way past Sunny and shouldered in between Dusty and Brick. "Back up," she ordered sternly. "Give me some space." The two did as they were told. "What are you gonna do?" Dusty teased. "Give it your Willow stare an' scare it open?" Willow glared back at him. Sunny gasped and tried to fade it into a cough. He looked around, hoping nopony else had noticed. Willow's eyes were glowing. He had only seen it for the slightest fraction of a second; when Brick had turned his light away. But he had seen it. Her eyes had been emanating a faint yellow light. He gazed at her, doing his best not to look shocked. She looked at him and they both exchanged a worried glance before she looked back to the door. Sunny was starting to feel nervous. What was wrong with his friend? Willow reached back and grabbed her key ring. "Keyths," she mumbled around the ring. Sunny doubted she would have a key that would fit this door. She sifted through the ring and tried a silver one. She cursed under her breath and tried another. About six keys later Dusty interrupted: "Uh, Willow," he murmured, "ah don't think that any of those keys are gonna work." Willow looked back at him with barely concealed rage. She turned away and went back to sifting through keys. She pulled out a big brass one and tried it in the lock. It made it about a quarter of the way in before it stuck. Willow growled again and head butted the stubborn door. Snowglobe stepped forward. "Maybe I could—" "No, no. this is the right key." Willow waved her away. Willow reached out a hoof, and with a grunt crammed the key into the lock. Something cracked inside the mechanism. "See?" She turned back and smiled at them. "It fits." "Are you okay Willow?" Sunny asked cautiously. Something definitely wasn't right with her. She had just broken a metal door with nothing but a single hoof. Her normal balanced reasonable attitude was nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by this jumpy impatient mare in front of him. She turned to look at him, still smiling. "I think so." She turned completely around and delivered a heavy applebuck to the door. Something else inside snapped inside and the door banged open. "I told I had the right key," she chided. Sunny just balked. He looked around to the others who all seemed just as shocked as he was. Even Brick looked mildly concerned. "Well, the door's open now," Dusty murmured. Willow pointedly turned around and stalked through the now open doorway. Sunny gave himself a shake and followed, the others following close behind. From what Sunny could tell, it looked like they had crossed into a cellar. A single yellow light hung from the ceiling, filling the small space with its gloomy yellow light. A wooden staircase on the other side of the room led up to higher levels. "I think we're in somepony's house," Snowglobe said quietly. Sunny silently agreed. "Well, let's go and see," he added, trotting towards the stairs. The stairs did indeed lead up into a house. Even though it was night, the hallway he emerged into was well lit. He wondered how the lights in this house were still working. Snowglobe appeared beside him, also looking around, the two walked a little ways down the hall. "Do you know why there would be power here?" he asked her. She nodded. "Spark battery in the cellar, must be a pretty nice one to keep constant power for this long with all the lights on." Sunny frowned. "What if the lights aren't always on?" He and Snowglobe exchanged a glance. Sunny wasn't surprised when he heard an annoyed grunt from behind him. Snowglobe snorted. "Well, saw that coming." She sighed with exasperation. "You make a single move and I'll blast ya.'" A gruff voice growled from behind them. "Now turn around, now!" he demanded. Sunny and Snowglobe both complied. Moon trotted out from the cellar door. "This is a nice looking place," she complimented looking around. Her eyes fell on the pony holding them at gunpoint. "Um, hi?" Moon smiled nervously. "What the hay are you three doing in my house? And how the hay did you get in here?" Sunny looked away from Moon and back to the accusing stallion. He looked old, his brown coat was graying and deep lines were etched in his face. But that didn't mean he wasn't intimidating. He wore an expression of concealed anger and was sporting a saddle of the likes Sunny had never seen before. Mounted to the saddle on his back was a rifle, it sat off to his right so that the barrel hung out to the right of his neck. A curved piece of metal ran from the saddle around his front so that a bit hovered right below his mouth. It took Sunny a second to realize how it worked. After closer inspection he could see that a metal cable ran from the bit along the curved piece of metal, where it was then attached to the firing mechanism of the rifle on his back. He kind of understood how it worked now. He could fire the rifle by biting down on the bit. Sunny looked back in time to see Willow, Brick Dusty, and Blossom all file out of the cellar into the small hallway. "What they hay is this!?" the brown pony spluttered. "What are all you ponies doing in my cellar?" Snowglobe spoke up. "We came in through the tunnel in the basement." He lowered his hostile stance but still kept his rifle trained on them. "I've always wondered what's behind that door." He glared around at all of them. "What's behind that door? Those bozos at the Royal Equestrian Army have only had me living here most my life because of that damned thing." "It's an escape route from the hospital," Sunny replied. The stallion stomped his hoof. "I should have known!" He mumbled something angrily under his breath. Sunny was starting to feel uncomfortable. There was an angry pony with a gun in front of them who was talking to himself. He spoke to himself for a moment longer before he seemed to remember they were still there. "Why are you here then? I thought all you ponies who locked yourselves in the hospital were all safe and sound in your little hidey hole." Willow pushed her way forward until she was nose and nose with the weathered stallion. "Look, I don't know who you are, and frankly I don't give a damn." Sunny cringed; from the fire in the stallion's eyes, Sunny guessed that he would have no tolerance for disrespect in his own home. "Things didn't go too well in our little hidey hole," Willow spat. "Me and my friends barely made it out alive. Now if you don't want us here then fine, we'll leave. But for the love of Celestia, don't give us any more of your shit at gunpoint! Because I don't want to hear it!" Sunny's mouth dropped open. Jeez Willow, he thought. There was in no doubt about it, something strange was going on with her. Sure, Willow would sometimes get a little grumpy and snap at somepony, but as far as he knew, she never snapped like that. The stallion took a respectful step back. "Take it easy now. If seven ponies suddenly climbed up outta' your cellar in this situation you might get a little on the bitchy side too. Willow snorted and pointedly turned her back on the stallion. She was so mad that she was shaking. Sunny stepped forward and laid a wing across her back. Her head immediately jerked around to glare into his eyes. Sunny had to resist the urge to veer away. The look she gave him was that of pure fire. This pony didn't look like Willow at all. What had happened to the mare he had met that day at the park? She looked scary. Willow seemed to gain control of herself, and her gaze immediately softened. "Sorry," she murmured. "I guess… I'm just tired." "Well," the brown stallion frowned, still looking a little unnerved by Willow's sudden outburst. "I guess I can invite you to stay a while. Seeing as you brought your own food." He motioned towards the stuffed bags carried by the two pegasi. "Come on then," he muttered halfheartedly. "Follow me." He turned and led them down the hall. A moment later they emerged into a sitting room. "So I take it you know what's going on out there?" Sunny asked. The old stallion snorted. "Well yeah, why else do you think I'd have all my windows boarded?" Sunny looked around the room. The front door was boarded up along with the two windows on either side. The walls were papered with a dingy yellow brown striped pattern. The carpet was also brown, but not quite as dark as the stripes on the walls. The old stallion looked at them all as if he were summing them up, his eyes lingering a little longer on Moon. "Now I'm not too keen about having you all stay here. But since you're here, you might as well make yourselves comfortable." Willow sighed. "Good, would you mind telling me where I can sleep?" she asked him, before turning to look at the rest of the group. "Sorry, but I'm not feeling too good." The old stallion snorted. "Make yourself welcome why don't you?" He shrugged, probably remembering Willow's outburst in the hall. "Up the stairs, second door on the left." "Thanks," Willow muttered. She turned and set off down the hallway. Brick watched her for a moment before setting off after her. The old pony watched her with suspicion as she left. "Makes me wonder," he murmured quietly to himself, probably not intending for Sunny to hear. "Excuse me?" Snowglobe asked. The stallion turned to look at her. "I can't help but notice the saddle you're wearing. Exactly what is it?" "Oh this thing?" he looked back at his saddle and the rifle mounted to it. "It's called a battle saddle. The REA started making them so that non-unicorn ponies could fire larger weapons. You can mount almost any weapon to one of these things." "Oh I see." Snowglobe trotted around the old stallion in a little circle, examining the saddle. "You mount the weapon on it and link the cable to the firing mechanism on the weapon of choice. Then you can fire it from your back with your mouth. This is a genius design. I don't know why I haven't ever heard of one of these before." "Well yeah, basically," the stallion replied, looking slightly impressed. "I've seen ponies who've hooked up four guns at once on one of these things." "Where'd you get it?" Snowglobe asked, still looking somewhat awed. "I used to work for the REA." Although the stallion spoke grudgingly of the REA, pride still shone in his eyes at the mention of working for them. "This was standard issue, what? Like, about the time I was just finishing school. But these ones were the best. They don't make them like this anymore. Heck, I don't even think you can find a battle saddle like this anymore. The REA recycles all of their old equipment." "Wow." Snowglobe sat down, her eyes glued to the contraption. The stallion cleared his throat. "Well, I'm guessing you all want to get some sleep. So let's set up some sleeping arrangements. Now, I'm also guessing your snappy friend and that big fella took one of the guest rooms so that leaves one more. There is no way one of you is getting my room. So I'll let you decide who sleeps where." With that the stallion turned tail and headed off down the hall. "Oh yeah, and I got a pretty nice water heating talisman," he called back. "Feel free to use it." "Ah don't need a room," Dusty said. "Floors fine for me." Moon trotted over to stand beside Sunny. "Me and Sunny can share the room." She mused, giving him a soft nudge. Sunny thought it over. "It might be nice to let more than two ponies share a room. There are five of us." Moon just sighed and shook her head. "What?" Sunny asked. Dusty brought his hoof up to his face. "Sunny," he managed. "Take the room." "But what about you guys?" he asked Snowglobe and Blossom. "It's okay." Snowglobe chuckled. Dusty stumbled over to a wall to lean on for support. "We'll just sleep on the floor," Snowglobe reassured, smiling. Moon was turning as red as a cherry. Sunny frowned. "Are you sure? Cause—" "Sunny!" Dusty cut him off; he stomped a hoof on the ground, also going red. "Just take the damned room!" "Okay." Jeez, Sunny thought. What was the big deal? * * * Willow couldn't sleep. She had tried; but no matter how hard she tried there was just too much going on. She groaned, looking at the vial of penicillin in front of her. "It's not working anymore Brick," she fretted. The brown stallion shot her a worried look. She looked around the little bedroom. Why did the walls have to be white? She hated white. Every damned wall in the hospital had been white. She sighed, being grudgingly grateful for the room. Willow rolled over on the bed with a moan. Her body felt all wrong. It literally felt like her innards were moving around inside her. It wasn't like she had felt after taking the experimental drug. That had just hurt, and melted her insides. It had even caused some gray patches in her mane. It was some nasty stuff. But this was different. Her muscles ached and her bones hurt. But they didn't burn like they had with the drug. And she could swear it by Celestia; anytime she wasn't looking at her coat it started squirming. There was something really wrong going on inside of her. And it scared her. She had absolutely no idea what was wrong. She had worked in a hospital her whole life, learned everything there was to know about medicine. And yet, something was wrong with her and she could do nothing about it. She had been too afraid to tell anypony. But, back in the tunnels, she could see in the dark. When Brick had turned off his light, or pointed it away; she could still see. Everything lit up in a dull yellow haze as if she were looking outside through a stained glass window on a cloudy day. "What am I going to do?" she muttered glumly. But, out of everything that was wrong with her, what scared her the most was that she didn't feel bad. No matter how weird she felt; she didn't feel like she was suffering. As a matter of fact, she almost felt, good. Great even! Even if everything did hurt, she couldn't explain it as something bad. She could feel it in her limbs, the raw strength that surged through her body. There was no easy way to describe it. Willow bet that if she wanted to, she could get up right now and run straight across Equestria. But she knew what it was, there was only on explanation. "I think my fears have finally been confirmed Brick." She gazed sadly at him. "I'm still infected… I didn't cure it." The stallion's eyes shot open, shock showing in his face. "I'm sorry," she added. "I should have told you what I thought I knew earlier. But even I wasn't sure then. And I didn't want to spread false alarm." She looked over to her barding which sat in a corner. All of those medical supplies, useless. The two metal cases sat on the floor a ways away. She tried not to think about it. "I can feel myself changing. Sugar Apple said it felt like there was something crawling in his skin. I'm starting to feel the same way. Brick approached her and nuzzled her softly. Willow just sighed. "I've been taking the penicillin to counteract the effects but it isn't working anymore." She tossed another nervous glance at the two cases. She couldn't just waste it. The cold truth was that she was infected. And she was going to die. Either that or end up like one of them… NO! Her time wouldn't end here! Not now, not after all of this. Brick cast her expectant glance. She gave a brief nod towards the cases. "Go get me the vial I used last time. Get one of the larger needles and fill with sixty milliliters of the stuff." Brick raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, I know how dangerous that is," she replied. Panic was starting to bubble up from the pit of her stomach. What if she didn't wake up? There was a very good chance that this was going to kill her. She might die, right here. But, she was going to die soon anyways. There was no harm in trying. It could only be for the best. She didn't want to die. Right now, the most important thing to her was living, staying alive. She had managed to survive what had killed so many others. And that was it, she was here, now. And they weren't, she couldn't just drop out now. This was what mattered, living. Just to move on to see the light of the next day. But if she was about to do this, and with chances this high of never waking up. The others at least deserved to know why. She trotted over to the dresser against the far wall and pulled open the top drawer. It was empty. She slammed it back angrily, cracking the wood housing. She sifted through the others and managed to find a scrap of parchment and a quill, along with a small bottle of ink. She laid the paper out and looked at it, waiting for the quill to dip itself and start writing. Willow groaned, no magic. With a gasp she finally realized why her magic wasn't working. It wasn't because of the drug she had taken. It was because the virus had still been inside her. She had been sick this whole time and that's what had been sapping her magic. She silently cursed herself for not realizing it sooner. She picked up the quill in her mouth and set to writing a note. When Willow was finished she looked down at her work. It was a little sloppy, but still legible. If this was her death note; then she wanted ponies to at least be able to read it. She was hoping it wouldn't be her death note. But there was a very good chance she was going to die. "You ready Brick?" she asked, not really wanting to know. The brown pony trotted over to her with a large needle in his jaws. It was filled with a familiar looking electric blue liquid. Willow walked to the center of the room and sat down. "Okay, I'm ready." She took a few deep breaths and looked up at Brick. The stallion looked anything but ready. "Okay," she gasped, trying to calm her beating heart. "Go!" Willow pinched her eyes shut. * * * Sunny lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. No matter how tired he was; there was no way he could sleep. Not after tonight. He recapped the entire day in his head. Everything from the meeting on had been nothing but havoc. Zombie ponies, ponies dying, falling through roofs, tunnels, and whatever else in between. But he wasn't just tired. He felt bad. All the time they had been running or coming up with plans, he hadn't helped at all. So far the only thing he had managed to do was get bitten. While everypony else had been surviving in the hospital; he had been in a coma. He hadn't done a single thing to help. He was nothing but a burden, doing nothing but trotting around behind the bigger smarter ponies. He wanted to do something that would make him worthy of the ponies he was with. Because right now, he was nothing. The sound of the door opening broke his train of thought. Moon stepped in and closed the door behind her. "This place has hot water!" she exclaimed happily. "So I take it you had a nice wash?" he asked casually, deciding she was better to look at than the ceiling. Droplets of water clung to her coat and her mane was wet and sleek. It ran smoothly down her neck and flank, seeming to reflect the dull light of the room. "Sure did," she replied, crossing the room. "A month in that hospital without warm water got old really fast. It was nice to finally have some hot water again." Moon looked down at the bed and shot him an annoyed look. "Sunny, look what you did." "What?" He looked around. "What'd I do?" Moon just rolled her eyes and pointed a hoof at the bedspread. "You're still covered in dust." She smiled and shook her head. Sunny looked at his coat, then to his disheveled mane. "Oh, whoops." He rolled off the bed and looked at the Sunny-shaped white spot. "Sorry," he muttered sheepishly. Moon waved away his apology with a forehoof. "Okay," she chided. "Here's how this is going to work. I'm going to get a new cover; while you go and clean yourself up." "But I'm tired," he protested. She shot him a stern look. "I'm not asking. I'd drag you down the hall myself but I don't want to touch your dirty coat until it's clean." "Okay fine," he agreed. There was no way he could say no to that. She was giving him that look that seemed both cute and intimidating at the same time. He trotted over to the door and pushed it open. Moon sighed from behind him, looking at the ruined comforter. He left the room and set off for the washroom. He trotted down the hall until he stopped in front of Willow's door. He was worried for the white mare. She had been acting really strange ever since they got in the tunnels. But she had gone to bed early because she wasn't feeling good. He didn't want to poke his head in and wake her up if she was trying to rest. He decided not to bother her and continued on to the washroom. Moon had been right; hot showers did feel good. Great actually. He realized just how much he had taken things like warm showers for granted. Only a month ago, a cold shower was about as much of a foreign thought as zombie ponies. But now a pony was lucky enough not to die, let alone shower. He let the warm water wash over his back. He enjoyed the water for a little longer before shutting off the nozzle. How did this pony have hot water here anyways? He had said something about a heating talisman. With a shrug, not really caring much how there was hot water, just glad it was there, he left the washroom. He headed back down the hall, passing Willow's room. He could hear her mumbling something inside. Sunny figured he should go in to check on her; but he shot down the thought. Right now, sleep seemed like one of the best things in the world. After today, he deserved it. He walked into his and Moon's room in time to see Moon finishing up on the new covers. "I take it you had a nice shower?" she asked cheekily. "You were right. Warm water is nice." He trotted over to the bed and flopped down on the new covers. "Do you think Willow's okay?" he voiced aloud, staring up at the ceiling. Moon flopped down beside him. "I'm not sure." She sighed. "But something is definitely up with her. You saw how strange she was acting. And what she did with that door back in the tunnels." Sunny scooted a little ways away from Moon, feeling awkward. "Yeah," he added. Moon noticed his movement and shot him a puzzled look. "What was that for?" she asked. "What was what for?" Sunny flushed. "Moving away from me," she replied, looking slightly offended. "Did I?" Sunny tried to play it off coolly, but was failing miserably. The truth was that he felt uncomfortable. He had never really had anypony be close to him. Not like standing in crowds or waiting in line, but actually close to him. He was foreign to the idea of actually being purposefully, or physically close to somepony. Moon's gaze softened. "What's wrong?" "Nothing." He tried to wave her question away. The look Moon was giving him meant that it definitely wasn't, 'nothing,' to her. He sighed. "It's just that… I'm not used to being near other ponies." Definitely mares, he added silently to himself. "Like in the park, I felt so uncomfortable with you near me, well, on me." What the hay was he doing? Moon was the only pony who had ever seemed to show a liking to him. And he was shying away from her. This mare was trying to get to know him, and be nice to him. And, he was pushing her away. "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to get you used to it," Moon chided, scooting closer to him. Sunny involuntarily moved away; he was now right on the edge of the bed. "Sorry," he apologized to an irritated looking Moon. "It's not like I'm going to bite you." She smiled, scooting herself even closer. "No, it's okay." He made to move further away and fell off the bed. He landed on his back, slightly stunned from the landing. Moon poked her head over the side at him. "Are you okay?" she asked, giggling. "Get back up here." "I think I'll stay on the floor," he answered. Moon looked down at him; a strange look gleamed in her eyes. "Fine then," she said, almost sounding impartial. "Wait? What's that supposed to mean?" he asked her. He looked up and realized what she was going to do. "No wait Moon—" The blue mare rolled off the bed and landed on top of him. Sunny gasped as the mare pushed the air from his lungs. "Hey there," she chuckled. "Fine, you win." Sunny gasped, giving in. "You really are persistent." "Maybe you should stop being so weird," she teased. "Hey, I'm not weird," he protested, trying to push the mare off. He tried to roll over on his side so he could get his hooves under him. But Moon planted her hooves on his belly and pushed him back down. He gazed up into her eyes. "You're a little close," he murmured, trying to wriggle out of her grasp. "I know," she whispered. Sunny stopped trying to squirm. He was hypnotized, her amber eyes sucking any thought from his mind. The hypnosis was broken by a bloodcurdling scream. Moon looked around wildly and rolled off him. Sunny scrambled to his hooves. He was certain that scream had been Willow. He had heard her scream like that back in the town square. Only it hadn't sounded as agonized as this time. "Was that Willow?" Moon voiced his thoughts aloud. He nodded. "I'm pretty sure." "I knew something was wrong with her," she fretted, running to the door. "I didn't want to say anything." Sunny followed her to the door. Why hadn't he checked to see if she was alright? Judging from the sound they had just heard, she definitely wasn't alright. Moon pulled open the door and they bolted out of the room. The two galloped down the hall to Willow's room. Upon entering, Sunny noticed two things. Willow was on the ground having some sort of seizure. And Brick stood stiff legged over her, an empty needle in his jaws. "Don't let her hurt herself!" Moon yelled, running over to Willow's jerking form. "Hold her steady!" Brick dropped the needle and helped Moon hold the thrashing mare. If Sunny hadn't known any better he would have guessed Willow was throwing a fit. She gave a strong buck of her hind legs that send Moon tumbling backwards. One of her thrashing forelegs struck Brick across the face and the large stallion went out like a light. Moon picked herself up from the ground and looked at the still shape of Brick. "She's strong." She gasped. "Wake up." She prodded the brown pony before going to back to Willow's aid. Snowglobe and Dusty charged into the room, looking around wildly. "What's going on?" Dusty asked worriedly. Moon looked down at Willow. The white mare was no longer thrashing around; but she was still twitching. "What's wrong with her?" Moon asked worriedly. She dropped down next to Willow. Dusty and Snowglobe both looked at Willow, worry reflecting in their eyes. The door behind them burst open and the old stallion barged in, battle saddle at the ready. "Just what the hay is all this damned noise about?" His eyes fell on the white mare held in Moon's grasp. His eyes widened. "She's got it!" he yelled, taking the firing bit of the battle saddle in his mouth. He took aim at Willow. "No!" Sunny yelled. Without thinking, he threw himself at the stallion, knocking his aim off. A shot fired as the two fell to the ground. "Back off!" the old stallion growled as they tussled on the floor. "You can't shoot her!" Sunny yelled back. He had been less than half a second away from shooting Willow. He had almost killed her! And he would have too. The old stallion pushed Sunny away and scrambled to his hooves. "That's what they all say," he growled. "She may be your friend now. But wait until she bites you in the ass." The old pony snorted, looking at her unconscious form. "I knew she was infected from the second I saw her. How long ago was it?" he asked demandingly. Brick picked his head up and looked around, still looking dazed. "A month," Sunny answered. "Don't you lie to me!" he bellowed. "The longest I've seen a pony last is four days." "You guys." Moon gasped. Sunny turned to look at blue mare. "How's Willow…" he trailed off, looking in shock at her leg. There was a clean hole right through her upper right foreleg. Sunny immediately left the old stallion to rush to her aid. "Don't you dare move," Sunny heard Dusty growl. Blood flowed generously from the wound on Moon's leg. The blue mare was gasping for breath, most likely going into shock. "What do I do?" Sunny asked frantically. Sunny silently cursed at himself. What could he do to help; he hardly knew anything about medicine. Moon flopped down on her side. "Check in Willow's bags." She gasped, caressing the wound. "She should have some healing potions." Sunny did a quick sweep of the room and spotted Willow's bags in one corner. Brick was lying by Willow's side, caressing the trembling mare. The old stallion stood observing the scene, looking impartial. Dusty glared at the old pony with barely suppressed rage while Snowglobe just looked dazed. Blossom wasn't even here. As quick as he could, Sunny ran over to Willow's bags. He dug out one of the bottles filled with purple potion. He remembered what they looked like from when Willow had given him one a while back. He trotted back across the room and held out the bottle to Moon. She levitated it from him and uncorked the bottle with her magic. As quickly as she could, the blue mare downed the deep purple contents of the bottle. "Thanks." She finally gasped, fighting for breath. Sunny watched as the bleeding stopped and the wound began to stich itself back together, the flesh and skin slowly regrowing to cover the fresh wound. "What they hay is wrong with you!?" Dusty yelled, glaring at the old stallion. Sunny turned his attention away from Moon to look at the others. "She is dangerous." The weathered pony pointed an accusing hoof at Willow. "You shot Moon!" Dusty spluttered. "It's not like I was aiming for her," the old stallion defended. "If your orange friend hadn't of hit me I wouldn't have shot her." Sunny wouldn't have been surprised if Dusty threw himself at the old stallion right now. He could feel anger bubbling up inside his own body. This pony had shot Moon trying to shoot Willow. And he was still going to try and shoot Willow. Sunny could see it in his eyes. Thank Celestia he had only shot Moon in the leg. "Then you would've shot Willow!" Dusty yelled as if he were arguing with a foal. "You don't shoot ponies!" The old stallion glared. "That time bomb isn't staying in my house." He took a step towards Willow but Snowglobe blocked his way. "Get out of the way," he growled, trying to push past Snowglobe. "Don't touch her!" Dusty yelled. The blue pegasus drew his pistol and trained it on the old stallion. The old pony stopped and turned on Dusty. "Put that gun away," he commanded, leveling his gaze with Dusty's. "Ah womt let you hurt her." Dusty spat around his gun. "I said put that gun away!" he repeated, leveling his rifle with Dusty. Moon pulled herself up to all fours and hobbled over to where the two ponies were having their standoff. The old stallion shot her a sideways glance. "Come any closer and I'll shoot you," he growled. "You're not going to shoot Willow," Moon spoke firmly, taking a step closer. The old pony made to turn her way. At that moment Dusty fired, striking the weathered stallion square in the flank with a loud thwack. He stumbled and took the bit in his mouth, turning back to face Dusty. The blue pegasus fired two more rounds and the old stallion fell to the floor. Dusty dropped his gun. "Damn it!" he yelled. "Ah didn't want to! Damn it! You made me do it!" He turned and propped his head against the wall. Sunny cautiously approached the shot stallion. Blood gushed from multiple bullet wounds and bubbled from his mouth and chest. "Celestia fuck me sideways." He gurgled, or chuckled. Sunny couldn't tell which. "I've been shot." Sunny could only watch as the old stallion closed his eyes. His breathing grew faint and a shudder wracked his body. A moment later he went still. Sunny turned away from him. He felt a sense of loss for the old pony, but strangely, no shock or horror. A scary thought struck him. Ponies dying was almost becoming normal. It wasn't that scary anymore. What was happening to him? How could he watch a pony die and feel almost no remorse? It felt as if the old stallion had just disappeared, or left, but not died. "Four," Dusty murmured sourly. His head thudded against the wall for a second time. "Damn it, that's four." Sunny did his best not to think about the dead pony on the ground behind him. He trotted over to where Brick was still lying with Willow. The big brown pony looked up and nodded towards the white mare. Sunny sighed with relief when he found that he could see the gentle rise and fall of her flank "Did she take more of this stuff?" Moon gasped, levitating an empty syringe in front of her. Brick motioned towards the dresser. Sunny followed his gaze and trotted over to the decorative dresser on the opposite wall. When he reached it, Sunny saw that atop of it was a mouth written note. "Hey look at this," he called to the others. All of them except Brick came to his summons. "It's a note," he stated. "What does it say?" Snowglobe asked. Sunny looked down at the note. It was a little untidy; but he could still read it. He read it aloud. "I am writing this letter because I do not know whether or not I will be able to tell you all later. I thought that I had cured the virus. But it turns out that I didn't actually cure it. The whole time, I still had it inside of me. The measures I took only isolated it. But it must have spread again, and recently too. I didn't feel a thing up until a few hours ago, when the penicillin stopped working. So I made a choice. It was either end up like one of them, or take a gamble with the same drug as last time. I took a much higher dosage than I did in the square that day. If you are reading this note I am either unconscious or dead. So I wanted you all to know that I tried to eliminate whatever it is inside me once and for all. But if what I did didn't work, and I'm either dead, or haven't woken up. I need you all to keep that medicine safe. As far as I see it, it's the only possible chance at some sort of a cure. You need to get it to ponies who know what they are doing. Maybe they can find something to do with it. I have high hopes that I will wake up soon with every muscle in my body hurting. But if I don't, then I just wanted you all to know it was nice while it lasted." Sunny looked around at the stunned ponies. "Signed, Willow," he finished. "So… what do we do?" Snowglobe finally asked hesitantly. Moon looked back at the still form of Willow, still held in Brick's caress. "Well, she definitely isn't dead. So we wait a while to see if she gets better." * * * "Celestia, everything hurts," Willow groaned. "But, I guess I'm used to that by now." Sunny looked at Willow; the white mare sat at the other end of the table. It had been three days since the whole incident upstairs. Willow took another bite of her food and swallowed with a painful grimace. The seven of them sat around the dining room table, eating what Sunny figured to be a late lunch. An awkward silence hung in the air, nopony feeling comfortable enough to speak. This was Willow's first time down the stairs since she had injected herself. Sunny didn't think she looked too good. Her normal white coat no longer shone, instead, looking more like a dull gray than white. The roots of her crimson mane had gone gray for the first half an inch. "They say something always hurts less the second time." Willow chuckled dryly. "I don't think so," her voice rasped from her throat as if she had been gargling nails. "Are you feeling okay?" Moon asked the sickly mare. "That's what I keep telling myself," Willow replied, sighing inwardly. "But if this is okay then I'd certainly hate to be feeling bad." She trailed off staring at her bowl of applesauce. One of the only foods she had been able to eat the previous day. "I think I finally killed the virus. I took three times what I did last time. And the dosage I took last month almost killed the virus. If it didn't work this time, then I give up." Moon frowned. "What saved you was isolating it with penicillin and formalin." She shuddered. "The drug finished it off from there. Well, mostly. If you took three times what you did last time, despite how dangerous it was." She shot Willow a glance. "That should have finally destroyed it." Willow chuckled. "It destroyed everything else inside me as well. If the virus survives while my immune system hits the fan, then…" She trailed off, lost in thought. The white mare looked back at the faint traces of the wound on her back. It had healed up nicely and the skin didn't appear to be rotting like it had before. Sunny took that as a good sign. Dusty looked up from his food. "Look, ah hate to bring somethin' like this up now. But ah can't let it go unspoken of much longer." Everypony turned their attention to him. "Ah've just been thinkin' it over. We can't stay here. Ah'm guessin' we walked no more'n a mile or two in that tunnel. That means we're still somewhere in the city." Snowglobe nodded. "I had that idea nagging at my head. We don't know at all where we are, other than a house somewhere. I was planning on asking that stallion before…" She stopped herself. Dusty muttered something under his breath and continued. "Now, ah reckon we want to get out of the town. You know, considerin' all the zombie ponies." "I kind of like that idea," Sunny added. Dusty gave him a brief nod. "Now, the nearest town is a ways away. But if we just sit here for too long we aren't gonna have enough food for the walk." Blossom tapped her hoof on the table, drawing everypony's attention. "Appleoosa is to the northwest. We came through there trying to get away from Canterlot. By the time we made it there, we were hearing from other ponies that Manehatten and Baltimare were in the same shape as Canterlot. But I don't know whether or not those were just rumors. Either way, when we were passing through; the Appleoosa folks had already heard about the virus. They were cautious to even let us in." Dusty pointed a triumphant hoof in the yellow mare's direction. "Yes!" he exclaimed happily. "Appleoosa might still be there." He frowned. "But that's quite a ways away." "Las Pegasus is closer," Moon added. Dusty shook his head. "No way, the bigger the city the more dangerous it is. Las Pegasus has over a million ponies living there. If the virus did make it that far, that place is a death trap." "So far, I'm liking the Appleoosa idea the best," Sunny said. "But you have a good point Dusty. How are we going to make it there?" The blue pegasus scratched his mane with a forehoof, thinking. "There are a few smaller settlements between here and there. More or less, if there are, or aren't ponies there, there should at least be some food and water. But Appleoosa's too far away to make a straight shot for." "Water is a harder thing to come by in the Equestrian desert," Snowglobe mulled. "It doesn't rain much. Most of the rain clouds are flown over here by the weather pegasi. But I doubt that's top priority now that there are zombie ponies everywhere." Dusty nodded. "Things are going to get dryer out here as time goes on without the normal imported rain. It don't rain naturally too often." He looked around at everypony. None of them seemed to have any objections. Dusty tapped his hooves together. "We may have to work out a plan as we go. But one thing's for sure, we can't stay here. This town is a death trap." "Agreed," Willow croaked. "When do we leave?" Moon raised an eyebrow, looking at the white mare. "You aren't in any condition to be going anywhere soon." "Nonsense." Willow waved her hoof at Moon. "Just because my entire body hurts you assume that I'm weak. I may get a little tipsy here and there but my muscles work fine. Besides, if I do decide to keel over, Brick can always carry me." She prodded the large stallion beside her, who nodded. Dusty looked around at all of them. "Ah don't want to leave any later than tomorrow. The longer we stay here, the less food we have for the road." "Let me address an issue," Snowglobe cut in. "Weapons. What've we got?" "Ah've got about thirty rounds for Valediction," Dusty replied. Snowglobe frowned. "Valiwhat?" "My gun." Dusty motioned to the revolver strapped to his upper right foreleg. "You named your gun?" Snowglobe asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Yep, Valediction," he replied simply. "What's that supposed to mean?" Sunny asked, Dusty scoffed. "What do ah look like, a dictionary? You'll find out eventually." Sunny glared. "Okay, back to ammo." Snowglobe broke in. "Moon, how many shells do you have for that shotgun?" "Sixteen," the blue mare replied. Snowglobe turned to address Blossom. "Do you have any ammo for that gun of yours?" The yellow mare shook her head. "How about that stallion's battle saddle?" Willow asked. "It's still sitting up there in my room. I can bet you anything he had more ammo for that thing lying around here somewhere." "Perfect!" Snowglobe exclaimed. "Brick, could you go get it?" Brick leveled his gaze coolly with Snowglobe's, but didn't move. Willow cleared her throat and gave the brown earth pony a soft nudge. Brick got to his hooves and set off down the hall. "Why does he only listen to you?" Snowglobe grumped, flicking a lock of purple mane out of her eyes. "Because he's Brick," Willow replied cheekily. "So who wants to wear the saddle?" Dusty asked. "There's no way we can just take the gun off and leave such a great piece of equipment behind. Besides," he added, "that rifle's a unicorn gun." "What does that mean?" Willow asked him. "Means that without a battle saddle, only unicorns can shoot it. Just like Moon's shotgun. It doesn't have a bit on it because the firin' mechanism is made for a battle saddle or other firin' device. A unicorn can shoot the gun manually because they got their magic stuff. But we earth ponies and pegasi need a battle saddle to shoot one of those." "I don't want to wear one of those things," Blossom said. "Same," Dusty added. "Ah got my gun, an' that's all ah need." Snowglobe cast a glance at Willow, who shook her head. "My horn may not work; but I'm not much for guns." Willow said. "And Brick's out too because he has to carry the cases." Snowglobe looked over to Sunny. "Well?" she prodded. "You don't have a gun." "I've never shot a gun before," Sunny murmured sheepishly. "Don't worry," Dusty reassured, "you get used to it real fast." "What time is it?" Willow asked. "I'm guessing evening-ish," Snowglobe replied, looking at the slivers of horizontal light shining in through the boarded window." "Right." Willow gave her head a quick shake. "If we are going to leave, it would be best to do so in the morning, so we have as much daylight as possible." "Agreed." Dusty stood up from the table. "Sunny can try on the battle saddle in the morning." "Okay everypony." Willow stood up with a grunt of pain. "Try to get some sleep. We're getting up early tomorrow." Everypony stood up from the table. Snowglobe stretched with a moan of satisfaction, her belly almost touching the ground. "Enjoying yourself there?" Moon teased the gray unicorn. Snowglobe raised herself back up to normal height and threw a glance at Moon. "No, but I bet you are." Willow snorted and Moon shot the white mare a wry look. Ah can't wait until ah can fly again," Dusty said, experimentally flapping his wings. "It feels like it's been ages." Sunny silently wished he could feel the same way. "So is that our plan then?" he asked. "Go outside, get out of town, try not to die, and get to Appleoosa? Willow nodded. "Sounds about right, but you forgot the part where something goes wrong and Willow ends up having something stupid happen to her." She chuckled dryly. "Well, night everypony. I'm gonna have Brick bring the saddle down, then we're both going to bed." Willow set off for the hall. Sunny looked around at everypony else. Moon caught his attention, her eyes gleaming mischievously. * * * Sunny squirmed as Snowglobe fitted the saddle to him, binding the straps tight against his belly. He winced as the gray mare gave one of the straps a hearty tug. "Easy there," he complained. "I do need to breathe." Snowglobe just chuckled. "If you're going to be shooting a gun from it then it needs to be tight. Otherwise it'll move and throw your aim off." "Don't worry Sunny," Moon chided, examining the battle saddle. "You look good in black. It matches your mane." He looked back at the saddle and had to silently agree. Just like the bags from the hospital, it did match his mane. Why did he keep ending up with the black barding? He rubbed a sore spot on his flank with a forehoof. Moon had insisted on sleeping on him last night. Literally on him, despite his protests, the persistent mare had prevailed, earning herself a pony-sized pillow. Sunny heard the squeal of a nail as Brick pulled another board from the front door. Sunny no longer had to wear his can-filled bags. Snowglobe was now wearing his old barding over her utility harness. Both her and Blossom had split his load between them, Blossom filling her own bags. He guessed that the old stallion in this house had been in some real trouble when they arrived. There had been hardly any food left in the pantry when they had searched it, more or less, maybe enough for a single pony to last a week. Snowglobe had found a few boxes of rifle ammo in the stallion's room. They were now safely tucked away in the side pocket of the battle saddle. He looked around at everypony else in the room. They were all suited up and ready. Moon's shotgun was strapped to her side. The night before she had sewed a series of fabric loops on the outside pocket of her bag, she had then filled the loops with shotgun shells for easier accessibility. Also, everypony was equipped with a jug of water, filled earlier this morning. "Could you remind me of how this thing works?" he asked Snowglobe. The gray mare nodded, looking him over to make sure the saddle was done up right. "So, on the bit that sits right below your mouth, is a firing mechanism. To shoot the gun, just take the bit in your mouth and bite down on the trigger. Now the bit itself has a small circle of free movement to provide more flexibility when firing. There is a little lever on the bit as well, that's the safety. It's meant to be flipped by a pony's tongue. If you aren't shooting something, it's on. Got it?" She asked him sternly. Sunny nodded and the mare continued. "With the firing mechanism right in front of your mouth it would be really easy to shoot one of us by accident. But, other than that, it's basically just point and bite. Aim your body the way you want the bullet to go. Since the rifle is mounted on your back, you should have a pretty good idea of where the bullet's going to go. Rifle holds six shots. You can reload by yourself, but it would be a lot easier to have me or Moon do it for you. And that's it really." Sunny nodded and experimentally took the bit in his mouth. Now that Snowglobe had pointed it out, he could feel the safety catch on his tongue. Brick gave a heave and the last board came free from the front door. Dusty trotted over and turned to face them. "Everypony ready?" He asked. They all nodded. Sunny's heart was racing. He had no idea of what they would face when Dusty opened that door. Willow shifted her stance nervously, looking around at the rest of them. One thing was for sure. This wasn't going to be any picnic. Dusty gulped, and opened the door. thanks to my friend Doppelganger for help with storyline ideas and some editing also to Turtle for fixing much of my failed grammar and terrible sentence splices. If you have anything you would like to address or ask me of. feel free to email me at Sorrenpeak Thanks for the support I received from the few people who originally strayed away from the main page to read this and set me on my course I know this chapter may have been a bit slow, but it can't make this a nonstop slugfest of cheesy action. If I did bore you with this, just give it some time. Stuff'll happen. 


	5. Chapter 5

this wasent a chapter but i will still place it here because i want it to be exactly like the original. I used to have this in a blog post. But the main reason I wrote this was for my story. So i figured I would put it here. This is not actually part of the story. Just a deep analysis of how to shoot things. - One day, I got this thought in my head, "If ponies ever did have weapons, how in the hay would they shoot them?" And from there my mind started wondering. Now any of you reading this should know the ponies I speak of, but I feel I should clarify for the sake of all. The ponies I speak of are not ones you would find at a farm, or a petting zoo. No, the ponies I speak of are my little ponies. Or with better clarification, G4 ponies. Mouth held weapons. Low caliber weapons along the lines of pistols can be held with the mouth. Now, assuming pony weaponry operates in the same manner as human weaponry we can infer that pressure is used to fire a bullet. For ponies to operate a small, portable weapon there would have to be means of bringing it to arms quickly and efficiently. This can be solved by a bit-operated firing system. This would allow the weapon to be both held and fired by a mouth bit. To achieve this, the design of modern weaponry would have to be changed. For a pony to effectively aim the weapon, the design would have to be redone to allow a pony to both, look down the sights, and to hold and fire the weapon from the mouth. If you were to take a normal pistol and remove the butt, you would be left with nothing more than the barrel and firing mechanism. But in the case of ammo storage we cannot remove the butt. So in order for the weapon to be fired by a pony, an extension would have to be added to the back of the weapon. The butt/clip design would remain for the sole purpose of ammo storage alone. But the trigger would have to be moved for a pony. For the weapon to work for a pony, an extension would have to continue on from the rear of the weapon for no more than two inches. Where a bit is then located so that the weapon can be effectively held by a pony. A means of firing also needs to be incorporated into the device to allow firing of the weapons by means of tongue or bite. If we assume that like humans, most ponies are right handed (or in this case) right hooved, then we can ergonomically create the weapon so as the right eye is dominant. So if the weapon were held in the mouth of a pony the sights themselves would be off center to the rest of the device, so as they lined up efficiently with the right eye. But in the case of a left hoofed pony, alternate sights could be devised. This would maintain a balanced dispersal of recoil while still maintaining accuracy. For lesser strength ponies a means of recoil reduction could be added. Such as a break join in the space between the firing device and the holding bit, that would allow slight forwards and backwards movement of the weapon ahead of the bit. So that recoil could be absorbed by the central device, eliminating or reducing the jarring effect of firing a gun. So with the firing mechanism and holding methods devised, and the problem of recoil and aiming solved as well, we can move on to reloading. More or less, there is no effective way for a pony to reload a gun. The simplest way for this to work would to have a small mechanism in which can be triggered to release the clip, in which then a pony can insert a new clip as of any means possible. But this takes us to the hardship of activating the firing mechanism. We all know that a pony cannot pull back the slide on a gun. So to fix the problem, every mouth held gun will have to have a hammer, or similar means of cocking and firing. For this part I will be referring to semi-automatics. After being loaded once, a semi-automatic weapon will use the discharge of the bullet to load the next into the chamber; the same aspect will apply here. But to continue in this area, I am going to have to delve more deeply into the mechanics of the firing mechanism itself. In order for the pony to fire the gun, or in the case needed, to cock a gun. There would have to be a way for the pony to do so by simply biting on the bit. To ensure this works. The handle for the pony to hold would, in itself, extend out. Now for my design to work, there would have to be a rotating joint lactated about midway between the gun and the holding bit. While the original handle would remain rigid. A second, moveable device would be located at this pivot joint midway of the handle. So that at full length this handle would reach to be as long as the other bit, but with a one inch space in between the two so that a pony could bite down on this. Squeezing the two handles together would in turn, fire the gun, and if the gun is not loaded in its current state, load the gun. Some biting force would be required for the initial loading, but from there on it would be a matter of point and squeeze. In the text above I believe I have covered all the assets of a pony, portable weapon, loading, firing, ergonomic design, aiming, holding, and cocking. Now to cover mouth held revolvers. Many of the same attributes of a revolver will apply as they did with the semi-automatics. The firing mechanism will be the same, along with the sighting method and recoil reduction. Although revolvers may be a little more down to earth, and not come with the recoil reduction feature, it still may be possible. But for this design, I am going to change a few things. The only reason the butt remained on the semi-automatic pistol at all, was because it was needed for ammo storage. But now in the case of a revolver, and ammo being stored in a circular disc instead of the butt, we can remove the butt entirely. Now a double action revolver is the only logical choice, due to the fact that single action just would not work. Since the firing mechanism both cocks, and fires the gun with biting down upon the handles, single action is literally impossible, leaving double action as our only choice. A revolver does not have the ability to reload itself with the discharge of the bullet so it has to be done manually upon every time a pony wishes to fire. So I am going to infer that a pony will bite down on the firing/loading mechanism. This will, in turn, cock the gun, rotate the barrel, and when the barrel has reached its full semi-rotation, the hammer will drop at the end of the cycle, henceforth, firing the gun. Such as a normal double action revolver is fired. The same means will apply, just with a slightly different design. These innovative weapon designs have been created for earth and pegasus ponies. Unicorns have the ability of levitation and physical manipulation of objects through the use of magic. Henceforth, unicorns will have no trouble shooting any kind of weapon, no matter the design. So I am leaving unicorns fairly untouched in my designs due to the fact that they are a very adaptable breed, and do not need special treatment. Now that I have covered the issues of 'mouth-held weapons,' I will move onto the designs of larger weapons that cannot be held in the mouth, weapons such as rifles or shotguns, or basically anything that would be considered a high powered weapon. To effectively use weapons such as these in a firefight environment, the methods of use would have to be both efficient and reliable. To solve the issue of holding a large weapon I would suggest a back-mounting system that would allow a large weapon to be mounted to the back of a pony. In this case, I will manifest my ideas in the form of a battle saddle. I give original credit of the idea of the battle saddle to Khat, known author of "Fallout Equestria." I am basing my design of the basic guidelines she laid in the writing of her story. So with the idea of back-mounted weapons in place I am going to explain my design. In order for a back-mounted weapon to work properly it would have to be both secure and accurate. To do so a saddle would be required with a sort of metal bracing or tethering that would allow the mounting of any large weapon. Now obviously, the weapon cannot be directly mounted on the back of a pony for the unwanted side effect of being shot in the back of the neck or head. So the mounted weapon in question would have to be mounted either to the left or right side of the neck. Barrel length would be a factor in this situation. Depending on weapon size, weight and mobility would affect combat efficiency. More compact and light mounted weapons such as shotguns or small assault rifles would be recommended for close quarters combat, while larger weapons such as rifles, or other similar designs would be recommended for support. But this topic alone is too large to cover in one paragraph alone so I will choose a single category for start. Tethering and mounting: In the case of a large back-mounted weapon, means of holding it would me essential. I would devise a set of metal braces extending from a tightly-strapped saddle to hold the desired weapon. These braces would extend out to either the left or right side, depending on the pony in questions preferences. The weapon would have to hang out enough as to not shoot the pony it is mounted to, but also remain close enough to the body that it does not become a hindrance to movement. Custom specifications would have to be devised depending on the pony in question, but for a more innovative design, adjustable bracing would be recommended. It is even possible for a pony to have two mounted weapons, one on either side. The practical use of this would depend on the pony in question's skill to multitask. Firing Device: The task of mounting the weapon in question is simple, the act of firing one, is not. After much thought I believe I have devised an efficient way for a large weapon to be fired from the back of a pony. This would have to be achieved by a traveling firing mechanism. For this, a sort of metal extender would have to be used. A piece of metal mounted to the saddle used to brace the weapon would extend from the saddle. From there it would curve around a pony's front and rise up to hover slightly below the mouth, while keeping as close to the pony's body as possible to decrease the possibility of snagging or accidental fire. The same firing methods would be used as with the mouth-firing system, as I devised on the page above. Only the means of transporting the process of firing over a distance of a little less than two feet will require some tweaking. So, at the end of extending piece of metal there is a bit that hovers slightly in front of, and below the mouth, as to provide easy access. But instead of a direct link to the firing mechanism of the mounted gun, there will be different means of transporting the act of firing. For this, I have devised a system the runs a cable from the firing mechanism of the mounted weapon. The cable would be attached to the weapon so that, when pulled, the weapon would fire. This cable would then run the length of the metal extension from the saddle to connect with the bit at the end. In theory, a pony would bite down on the trigger which would, in turn, create tension on the cable, firing the weapon. But for the metal extender used to transport means of firing to be used both effectively and easily, it cannot be solidly mounted. For this, I would recommend a small circle of movement no more than four or five inches, to allow flexibly when firing the weapon. This would, in theory, make aim during situations where mobility is required much more efficient, allowing the pony to jar themselves while still remaining lax on the bit. This could also help prevent accidental misfire. Reloading: With the back-mounting and firing system in place, comes the troublesome act of reloading. As we are all aware of, a pony is not able to reach back in a pressing situation and effectively reload a back-mounted weapon. For this section, I have devised two ideas. In the case of a combat situation, an earth pony or pegasus would have in use, a battle saddle. But this may become ineffective very quickly if the pony is unable to reload. So in the case where reloading is required quite often, I propose a unicorn or innovative pony be present with the one in need of reload. This would ensure that the pony in use of the battle saddle would have the least hassle in the process of reloading and can focus in the battle at hand while others are in charge of keeping him/her in ammo supply. But in the case of a single pony being in use of the battle saddle without the aid of another pony or unicorn, different means would have to be devised. The most efficient, as I see it, would be to remove the need to reload at all. For this, I would propose belt fed, semi or fully-automatic weapons. Bags containing large amounts of ammo can be strapped or stored somewhere on the saddle with a belt feed to the weapon in use. This would ensure a large ammo capacity, and the infrequent requirements to reload. All ammo can be linked on one continuous chain, up to as much ammo as the pony can carry. At this point, if the pony does run out of ammo, there would be no replacement ammunition in the first place, forcing the pony to either switch methods of combat, or find means of obtaining more ammunition. Alternate Designs for Pegasi: Now a back mounted gun may have the unfortunate effects of affecting a pegasus in mid-flight. Anything mounted to the left or right above the wings, would prove to be a hindrance to normal flight. For this, a weapon would have to be mounted somewhere below the wing joint. The actual flight speculations of a pegasus is unknown, but I can only assume that the down stroke does not follow through to make contact with the flank. This would provide a reasonable area of useable space in which to mount a weapon. The same methods of firing would apply here as in the paragraph above. But for a pegasus in mid-flight a single weapon mounted on one side would off-balance a pegasus. After much observation I, and many others have devised that a pegasus pony must have a lighter bone structure than normal unicorn or earth ponies. This would, in turn, make them more susceptible to flight affecting weight distribution. To counteract these effects, a counterbalance would have to be introduced to make normal flight both easy and as balanced as possible. Another solution would be to have two mounted weapons. Proving to be both effective problem loving, or in any other case, killing two birds with one stone. 


	6. Chapter 6

See anything?t reply. Instead, he took a step forward and motioned for them to follow with his tail.

After the gloomy light of both the house, and the hospital, the early morning sunlight was almost blinding. The rest of them followed Dusty out of the dwelling. This was the first time any of them had been outside since the infection broke out. Sunny blinked, his eyes finally adjusting to the new change of atmosphere. They had emerged out onto a small front lawn. Houses ran away on both sides of the street. He looked around nervously. As far as he could see, there werenHorseapples,What is it?t seen anything she had missed.

Dusty looked both ways down the street, then hung his head. re almost smack dab in the middle of sort of an REA egghead would build an escape route right to the middle of town?So, now what?Well, ah could fly up an** The pegasus mused, glancing up at the sky. **

**Sunny looked up and immediately wished he could find something to hide under. t recommend that.t really call it drifting. The zombie pegasi were flying, but just barely. They gained and dropped altitude rapidly with no clear flight pattern or purpose. **

**s not fair.**They can fly too?Well if Apleoosa is northwest, it wouldn** The white mare looked around at the rest of them expectantly. **

**s a start,t even made it more than a few steps out the front door and they were already running into problems. **

**Dusty started cautiously forward. Sunny could see how naturally Dusty was falling into the position of leader. Technically, nopony was in charge. But the blue pegasus seemed of the strong determined type that everypony was more than willing to follow. **

**Snowglobe said as they walked down the sidewalk. t see a thing.t traveled nearly as far as he thought they had. s where they all are.**Sweet Celestia,They

**They all looked on in horror as a green shape emerged onto the roof. The shape continued on until it reached the edge. Sunny couldn**What is this?This can

**Willow nudged the unsettled mare forward. The seven of them continued across the intersection. They were still in a neighborhood, this particular street sported rows of identical houses, all lined up within close proximity of one another. **

**Sunny couldn**I wonder why we haven** Blossom wondered aloud. **

**Willow shrugged. re supposed to be the zombie expert, not me.**Just because I was there when it all hit the fan doesn

**t seen any,**Problems?I recommend we get off the ** Dusty nodded. Without a word, he led them off the main street to one of the many houses. They sneaked through a garden gate into a backyard. **

**Sunny looked around at the fenced in yard. he asked to the group as a whole. **

**Dusty cocked his head. t see any other way.**Sure, it** Willow jabbed. She looked up at her horn. she muttered broodingly. **

**Snowglobe trotted over to the fence and planted her forehooves on it. s better than taking the street,**Lose your balance there?No,I just thought it would be more stylish to try it a different we like, check houses or something?s yard they had invaded.

Sunny followed her. **He and Snowglobe peered through the glass door into the dark dwelling. **

**Willow called. **

**Sunny threw her a backwards glance. he replied. He turned back in time to see a strawberry colored mare throw herself against the glass with a resounding thunk. Snowglobe backpedaled with a little squeal of terror. But Sunny couldns reflection. The mare shook her head; blood spattered the window from a violent nosebleed. **

**Snowglobe choked, still gasping for breath. The strawberry mare collided with the glass again, this time leaving a crimson smear in her wake. Slowly, he backed away, never taking his eyes from the insistant creature. **

**Blossom pointed out. s a gate to the back alley. No more fence hopping. Sunny, looking for a good thing to distract him from the sight of strawberry mare, followed Blossoms sake. And yet, they ate ponies like they were a rare delicacy to be gobbled up. Sure, ponies still enjoyed things like eggs. But that was different. **

**Sunny continued on with the others, lost in thought. There was one thing he didn**What was that?What do you think? Something that

**Dusty whispered. He took a cautious step forward and drew Valediction. **

**A white filly staggered out from behind a trashcan and fixed its sickly gaze on them. **

**s just a filly,**Maybe it doesn** Moon whispered hopefully.**It sees us!s jaded response. Dusty took stance and fired. The little zombie stumbled and fell, only to roll to its hooves almost immediately and resume its charge. The creature threw itself at Dusty, who dodged. It flew past him, almost taking a chunk of the blue ponyt get up.

**Moon balked. **

**Dusty holstered his weapon. ah have ever seen.**I-is it dead?It had better be,They shot it four times.t fair! They couldnt do. Killing fillies, zombie or not, was wrong. He gazed back the way they had come. Fences stretched away on either side, with the occasional backyard gate. A multicolored group of ponies pouring into the alley from the street caught his eye.

**he stammered, taking a startled step backwards. **

**Moon turned her attention to him. She looked on the verge of tears. She followed his gaze. Her mouth fell open, horror reflecting in her eyes. Enough zombie ponies ran at them that Sunny couldn**Run!t let him. Dusty looked up to be greeted with the terrifying sight. Without much else to do, Sunny took the bit of the battle saddle in his mouth and flipped the safety catch with his tongue. He took careful aim and bit down. The rifle on his back discharged; the sound rang in his ears. An orange pony at the front dropped, only to be replaced by another. Sunny fired again, but missed, pitting a hole in the ground.

around!s mane and tugged the orange pegasus around. **he commanded. The two sprinted down the alley. Sunny could see the others a little ways ahead, having gained distance with a head start. **

**Sunny spared a glance backwards. Only to see the wall of rainbow colored death gaining on them. re in trouble!**Just a run in the park!Was that supposed to be a joke!?What? You didn** Dusty chuckled as they ran. **

**Sunny looked at the pegasus who ran at his side. re about to die! You aren The group ahead of them slid to a stop; he and Dusty nearly barreled into them. Sunny wanted to cry out in terror. Ahead of them, in the alley, was a whole new horde of them. **

**Snowglobe gasped. She spun in a quick circle, looking for any means of escape. **

**Willow responded by charging off to the left, directly at the wooden fence. She struck it head first and charged a hole straight through. Splinters of wood flew as the white mare disappeared. **

**s got the right idea,s improvised gate. The rest followed, Sunny at the back. **

**He looked around. They were in yet, another back yard. Willow teetered on her hooves and gave her head a violent shake. **

**Moon asked, nudging the shell-shocked mare forward. As quickly as the group could, they all crossed the lawn to the back door of a red house. **

**Willow chuckled as they reached the porch. **

**Sunny ran to the back door. he pleaded under his breath. To his relief, it was. he yelled. They all charged into the house as he held the door open. Brick pushed Willow in last, leaving only Sunny outside. Zombie ponies were now pouring through the escape route Willow had provided. Three tried to pile through at once and jammed in small space. With a splintering sound the fence came apart and dozens of them poured out onto the lawn. Sunny backed into the doorway and took aim at one. He fired at the pink zombie closest to him and she dropped. **

**Hey, he was getting pretty good at this. Dusty was right; you do get used to it really fast. He backed into the house in time for Dusty to slam the door. The entire wall shook as the ponies outside collided with the door. **

**Moon panted. The door shook again; this time a small crack appeared in the center. **

**Sunny asked worriedly as he looked around the well kempt house. t go out the front door. There He panicked, seeing no clear way out. **

**The door bowed inward from another blow and they all shied away. Willow replied, fear reflecting in her voice. **

**Dusty made a motion for them to follow, and they trailed the pegasus down a hall. They emerged into what looked like the front room of the house. Sunny ran over to one of the windows by the front door and peeked out. Sure enough, there were a good deal more of them milling around in the street. The sound of splintering wood from the back of the house warned that the door wasn**We need to get upstairs,How will that help us?Just trust me!t even noticed the staircase. With no other options, the six of them followed Blossom up the carpeted stairs. Sunny was starting to feel quite winded. Running down an alley had drained him pretty well. And now, his worst enemy, stairs.

What** Willow rasped as they peaked the stairs. **

**the yellow mare replied without looking back. They ran down a short hall and into a bedroom. Sunny slammed the door after everypony was inside. Blossom crossed the room to the nearest window and threw open the shudders. **

**There was a resounding crash downstairs. re inside,**Come on!t easy walking on the slanted roof. The wood and hay shingling was loose underhoof. A single misstep could send a pony tumbling down the harshly angled rooftop. They climbed up to the point where the roof arched and everypony stopped to rest.

Willow sat down hard. **she said in between breaths. re trapped on a roof.**Itt you agree?Leave me alone!What!?The roof just tried to eat me!We need to get off this roof,Easy for you to say,t too far, six or seven feet at most. **he asked them all in general. He knew he could make it; but the others, he wasn**We could try,Are you crazy?Maybe,Either way, it** She motioned with her hoof for the rest of them to proceed. Moon walked tentatively up to the ledge. Sunny watched nervously as she sprung and landed cleanly on the other side. Dusty had no trouble crossing due to the fact that he could fly. This gap was plenty small enough for Sunny to soar over. He landed on the other side to turn and watch the others cross. **

**Moon sighed. She gazed out over the stretching rows of houses. **

**Snowglobe panted. t jump any more roofs.t quite know how many houses they had crossed, but it was definitely a lot. **

**Dusty touched down on the roof beside the orange pegasus. looks safe up there, might as well take a quick break.t receive any more surprises. **

**Sunny was grateful for the lack of pegasi zombies. He had spotted a few on the ground, wings too crippled to fly. From what he could tell, pegasi zombies were rare. Maybe for every twenty zombies they would run into one flying one. **

**Willow asked hopefully? **

**Dusty frowned. d say a little over half,**I didn

**Dusty looked down at the mare balanced precariously on the roof arch. s a little problem,**There to hop. The only way ah see we could go from there would be through the park, then after that, a row of apartment buildins.s a lot of them between here an

**ll just have to make a run for it?**I don** Sunny replied. He looked in the direction Dusty had indicated, shielding the sun from his eyes with a forehoof. It looked like a long ways. **

**Snowglobe stood up and balanced her way over to Sunny. the gray mare stated. She levitated one of the ammo boxes out of his saddlebag and set to reloading the fired shots. **

**he said absently. His mind was reeling from the craziness of the day. And it wasn**Okay, time to go,s rest short. Nopony was eager to get going but they readied to move on nonetheless. They set off again, slightly rested.

Two more roof jumps later the seven of them found themselves looking down on a large crossroad. This was where the neighborhood road connected to a larger one with a T shape. The parkAnypony got a plan?I have an doesnm guessing those fences are about five feet tall. And I don

**Dusty tilted his head. The pegasus looked somewhat impressed. He shot a look at the wrought iron fence surrounding the park, then to the two large swinging gates under the metal archway. he said. **

**ll need to plan a little better though,**Well, here** He tapped a hoof on the roof they were standing on. **

**s taking them so long,**Just wait for the signal,That

**Moon held out a hoof to halt the advancing mare. She nuzzled the door open a little further, waiting for the familiar orange shape. **

**Something caught the attention of the ponies in the street. One of them turned and snarled before sprinting off to the left. The others followed right behind. Thatt exactly call it soaring, more of a gracious fall. s go!**Let** Willow called **

**Moon looked around to see Dusty a little ways away, down the street. The pegasus hovered about eight feet above the ground. Zombie ponies crowded below, jumping and snapping at the tasty pony above. **

**re like hungry fish!**Get those gates closed!s head flew in six different directions, fanning the air with a red mist. Its body hit the ground rolling. She snapped open the shotgun and ejected the two spent shells. She loaded two more and closed the breach; it gave its normal satisfying metallic click that Moon had come to like.

The mare was completely at peace in her mind. Shooting these things was like therapy to her. They werenMoon, come on!We** Snowglobe called. **

**A moment later Dusty landed next to them. he said cheerfully. Zombie ponies piled up against the gates, snarling and screeching at the ponies just out of reach. **

**Moon looked around at everypony; they all sported some sort of a triumphant smile. Except for Brick, he was just making his**I

**She shot him a smile. t complain about me shooting them now that you **

**The orange pegasus flushed. t think I **

**re pretty good at shooting a gun,**No time for celebration yet.s comment drew everyponyAh have a feelint gonna be any walk in the , that was by far, the worst joke I have heard since I was a filly.t even there anymore? They were basing their survival on a hunch. But it wasnt supposed to like it.

She looked over at Sunny; who was fiddling with the bit on his battle saddle. t go shooting anypony,Dons on.s personality, cool was not a word one would use to describe him. And here she was, thinking he looked cool.

**Sunny made an awkward poke at conversation. **

**Moon nodded and looked down at the shotgun, which was once again strapped to her left flank. The stained oak finish gleamed dully in the sunlight, the many dents and scratches rippling the sun**Yeah,It makes me feel safe. If that makes makes you feel bigger** He flushed. the orange pegasus added sheepishly. **

**Moon looked around at the group once more. The moment of cheerfulness had passed to be replaced by a kind of sad realization, so basically, back to normal. s anypony else out there?**There has to be,Right?I just don** she sighed. t imagine what **

**s just something we Tentatively, Sunny laid a comforting wing across the blue maret help but to smile. She knew he wasn**So let me get this straight,Before all of this, you drove trains?That

**Snowglobe chided. **

**Dusty frowned. **

**Snowglobe grinned evilly. **

**The blue pegasus replied without missing a beat. ll blow out the pressure release.s mouth fell open. Dusty seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. d like, or how much of a difference on torque you would get just by decreasing the size of the driving wheels by a half inch and shortening the couplers.**No, that** Snowglobe cut across hurriedly before the pegasus could continue. The gray mare was going red in the face. Dusty chucked and flicked his tail. she huffed under her breath. **

**Moon turned her attention to Willow, who appeared to be trying to coax brick to speak. From the look of frustration the mare wore, she was not succeeding. **

**Moon could see the fence at the other end of the park. Pretty soon they would be back to walking down zombie infected streets. **

**Sunny squinted ahead. t going to be easy,**Why** Blossom asked. **

**s been too easy.**Well if you say that then a bad

**Sunny replied. **

**look at the positive side, like...**You just gotta look at the good part,How many zombies do you think are going to be out there?Why do we keep calling them zombie ponies?What do you mean?Well, zombies are mythical creatures. Just things from old ponytales, story time monsters designed to scare foals. Zombies are creatures that pop up out of the ground, literally the undead.I think I may see your point,The things we are dealing with arens not like theyt any different than us, other than the fact that they eat meat and dont , they act a lot like the story zombies. I think that

**Willow chuckled. s just been on my mind for a while now. It was starting to bother me.**Hey Brick,Could you dig me out a pain potion?Trouble, zombie things, which included stumbling around blankly.

Moon immediately brought forth her shotgun. re going to have to go through them,Hold it,We don

**Dusty holstered his weapon to speak. s get em He looked at Sunny. **

**The orange pegasus nodded, a little nervously. He took the bit for the battle saddle in his mouth and stood still. Dusty drew his weapon again. Sunny took a deep breath and the rifle on his back fired. Moon watched as one of the four ponies near the gate stumbled. It turned its sickly gaze to them and squealed. **

**Snowglobe murmured. She shrank back behind the larger shape of Brick. The four ponies near the gate ran at them. The things may not have been the most coordinated; but they could still run really fast. **

**Willow muttered. She took a few steps backwards until she was standing behind the small defensive line they had set up. Sunny, Moon, Brick, and Dusty all stood at the front, waiting for the zombie ponies to come into range. The one Sunny had hit lumbered towards them at the front. Brick fired and it fell flat on its face. Sunny fired but he missed whatever he was aiming for. Brick dropped one and Dusty fired two more shots into one of the remaining two. The last was now no more than ten feet away. Moon aimed her shotgun and sent a round of buckshot into its flank. It tumbled to the ground leaving a trail of blood in its wake. Brick quickly dispatched it with a single shot. **

**t too hard.**You just had to say it,This is gonna get or shoot?Run or shoot!?Both!Check that!Just run!Run like you did something to make Willow mad!What are you doing?t respond. Instead she ran back towards the gate. The yellow mare closed one of the double gates. Moon stood watching in horror. The others had stopped as well. Dusty was taking the time to reload his weapon again. But as the mare went to close the second gate, a zombie pony reached it and bowled her over. Moon aimed the shotgun and blasted the snarling pony backwards. Blossom scrambled to her hooves and finished pulling the gate closed. She set the latch and took a hurried step back.

s go!That gate isnNice work, you okay?No,It bit fucking bit says the shortest it takes a pony to turn is about half a day.

Blossom shook her head again, looking at the ground. t matter. Is over.t known the mare for very long. But she was like a member of their group. I canm thinking as if sheIf we get Willow now then maybe she can

**Sunny bellowed. Moon heard the sound of more gunshots and turned to see a good dozen run out of an alley between two apartment buildings. Dusty and Sunny both unleashed fire on the incoming ponies. Sunny fired twice but on the third time his rifle clicked. he yelled. The gray mare ran over to the pegasi**You got one box left,We got more coming in from behind!Time to get off the street!These rooms have windows,What are you doing?get in here!Make sure you guys make it out of here,t get out. She took a deep breath. It was now or never. Blossom turned towards the failing front door. Already it was only hanging on by a single hinge. She looked down at the bite on her upper right foreleg. She had been inches from closing the gate when the thing had hit her. Somehow it had gotten her. She chuckled meekly to herself. This was it. She was going to die.

**she growled. The door collapsed inwards and zombie ponies started pouring into the small room. She turned tail and ran for the stairs. They were right behind her. She imagined she could feel their breath on her tail. Without slowing, she took a hard left and started up the stairs. Blossom pushed as much out of her body as she could. The others had to make it out. She at least owed them that. **

**She shrugged off her barding to lessen the weight. she swore. She had left with half their food supply. It was too late now. **

**Four flights of stairs later she found herself panting for breath. Celestia, dont, not now. She burst through a door at the top of the next flight. She was now on the roof of the building. Quickly, she slammed it behind her. She stood on her hindlegs and put her back against the door as the monsters threw themselves against it from the inside. She breathed heavily, the moments break allowing her to regain her breath. The door groaned and she leaned more of her weight against it. **

**Blossom looked around at the tar and gravel roof. There were buildings like this all over the place now. She preferred the older ones better. Once she had been to Ponyville. The roofs of all the houses there had been hay. They didn**Breaks over,I can make that,Celestia save me,Yeah!Make that one!Disregard what I said earlier,s head on the roof and slid off. Then, they stopped jumping. More of them were still filing onto the roof. But they werenNo,No! You can** she cried. s not fair! You aren The creature backed up until it was almost on the other end of the roof. Its fellow companions, or whatever they were, stumbled idly around in confusion. t you do it!**Great,I** She looked down at her leg. m really screwed.**Out of all of you fuckers I had to get the smart one!Why me!?Please Celestia,It** She turned towards the street, and jumped. Her mind went into a frenzy of thoughts and memories. Family, friends, places, sights, sounds, everything she had once held dear. Nothing was comprehendible but the wind in her mane. **

**She was filled with the most painful sensation she had ever felt. She heard her body crunch as it struck the pavement. A green zombie pony landed next to her, its neck broke on impact. **

**She had splayed on her side when she had landed. Blossom chuckled. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth. Blossom looked down at her legs, now mangled and broken. A bone stuck out of one at the knee joint. The sound of more of the monsters hitting the pavement filled her ears, somehow making itself heard over the ringing in her ears. Her breath caught in her throat and she coughed blood onto the pavement. It hurt to breathe. Slowly, her vision began to fade around the edges. **

**t catch me,s sun hovered at its midpoint in the sky. Blood pooled in her mouth and nose and she was forced to turn her head to spit it out. She looked back at the sun, which was now slowly becoming darker. **

**Blossom closed her eyes. ll be with you.**Where** Sunny wondered aloud as they walked down the deserted street. **

**Moon sniffed. **

**Willow looked down at her hooves. **

**Moon realized they didn**Because,At the gate, she got , she saved all of us,Ah give condolences. But if she got bit, then she she knows it ** Dusty finished levelly. **

**Moon let her mind wander as they walked down the once again deserted street. They had broken out of the room Blossom had locked them in. There hadn**Look over there,City limits are just up we can get out of here,I

**Dusty stomped his hoof. **

**Sunny asked worriedly. **

**Dusty looked around in frustration. **

**Snowglobe drew in air, letting it whistle through her teeth. **

**t worry,**There are a few houses on the outskirts of town that I

**Dusty huffed. **Three here,t believe the luck they had. They had made it out of the town with mere bullets to spare. So much could have gone wrong it was scary. But the real loss was blossom. She was part of their group. Sure she had only been with them for a few days, but she had still been a part of them, one of the very few survivors. And now their numbers were down to six.

Moon levitated the shotgun from her side and looked it over. **she mused. s pretty good at zombie killing.t believe Moon was very keen to guns at all. She just didnt like guns. Thatt allowed. He had never been to places like them before. But in some towns guns werent even exist. It was only a while ago that some engineer pony had come up with the idea. And from there it had spread to all of what it was now. Some ponies still refused to acknowledge the things existed. Towns like Ponyville avoided them altogether. Sometimes, Sunny could agree with them. Guns were meant to do nothing more than kill ponies. But in this current situation, that was just what they needed. **

**Willow said. Everypony turned their attention to her. t know about the rest of you but I **

**They all murmured their agreement. **

**Dusty unfurled his wings and flew around above them as they walked. **

** a thanks to doppelganger for ideas. **

** I no longer have an editor; so bear with me if there are a few errors. **

** If you are unclear of weapon design, please refer to my text wall previously posted. **

** I'm not quite sure about the lines between teen and mature. If you think I am veering further into the mature section, please tell me. I'd rather be told by a reader than have my ass reported. **

** Also, comedy tag? Some parts are funny, but I wouldn't really clasify it as comedy. What do you ponies think? **

**Please, I urge you to leave comments. **

** Also, tell me if you find any references. I'd like to know if anypony gets them. **

**Thanks for sticking with me. **

**~Sorren**


	7. Chapter 7

"Look what ah found." Dusty said happily as he dug around in the hall closet. Sunny chuckled at the pegasus' cheerfulness. After reaching the outskirts of town they had searched multiple houses. Most of them had been emptied. The last one they had tried to enter was locked up tight. But after giving Willow a minute with the door, they were in; and the white mare only had a mild headache. This house was stocked with all sorts of goodies. The pantry had proven sufficient enough to restock their food supply after they had lost half of it with Blossom. "What'd you find?" Sunny asked. The pegasus reached into the closet and pulled out something by the strap. "A gun." He smiled. Sunny looked at it. It was a gun, complete with a strap and holster so a pony could tether it to their body. Black finish, the thing looked half plastic. "It doesn't look like the best gun," Sunny poked. Dusty frowned. "Well it's not the best. But it still shoots things don't it?" Sunny chuckled. "Probably some hoofball-mom's home defense system." "It's not entirely the gun that's the prize." Dusty stuck his head back into the closet and pulled out a few boxes. "Ammo," he added cheekily. "Three boxes of low caliber ammunition. Aaaaaaand," he said eagerly. "One box of rounds for Valediction." "Hurray," Sunny drawled. "Now we have more stuff to shoot stuff with." Dusty shot him a look. "Well fine then mister I-don't-like-to-shoot-guns. Go and hang out with the mares." Sunny shrugged. "Okay, I'll leave you on your quest for ammunition. Or whatever you're doing." Dusty just waved a dismissing hoof and buried his head back into the closet. Sunny chuckled and headed down the hall towards the kitchen. "Look, I'm telling you." He heard Willow's voice from up ahead. "I'm going to cook them, and if you don't want to eat them then you can go hungry." "It just doesn't feel right," Snowglobe protested. Sunny walked into the kitchen to see the two mares glaring at one another. "What's going on?" he asked idly. "This mare is resorting to barbaric terms," Snowglobe huffed. Sunny shot Willow a, "What's she talking about" glance. The white mare replied with a chuckle. "I'm cooking eggs." Snowglobe shot Willow an angry look. "In case you've forgotten, we're herbivores." Willow shrugged. "Well yeah, but eggs taste good. It's not like we're eating an animal or something." "Snowglobe, a lot of ponies eat eggs," Sunny replied cautiously. "Just like ponies drink milk. It's not like we're eating the cow. You know, just eating the stuff from the cow." Snowglobe sighed. "I just don't want to be anywhere near eating something that came from something alive. It's too much like them." She made a hoof motion out the kitchen window. "Well technically plants are alive," Willow murmured. Snowglobe glared. "That's not the same!" Willow lifted a hoof to cover her face in mock horror. "Okay, easy there. Don't hit me mrs. perfect." Moon walked into the room. "What's going on?" she asked. "We're talking about eggs," Sunny replied. Moon frowned. "Why eggs?" Sunny shrugged. "What do you think?" Willow asked the blue mare. Moon looked puzzled. "Think about what?" "About ponies eating eggs," Willow insisted. Moon tilted her head to once side, thinking. "Is this a trick question? And why are you and Snowglobe looking at me like hungry animals?" Willow chuckled. "No, it's not." She looked over at Snowglobe. "And stop looking at Moon like you want to eat her. We're herbivores, remember?" The angry gray mare stomped a hoof. "Would you stop that!?" "Stop what?" Willow asked in the most unconvincing innocent voice Sunny had ever heard. Sunny stood back and tried not to laugh as Snowglobe glared daggers into the white mare. Moon shrugged. "I really don't see much wrong with eating eggs," she replied cautiously. "It's not like you gain any nutrients from eating them but they still taste good." Willow beamed triumphantly at the gray mare. "Ha," she chided. "That is it!" Snowglobe threw herself at Willow and the two mares fell to the floor. "Bahahaha, help!" Willow chuckled. "She's got me." This only angered the mare further. She continued to try and get a blow in on Willow. Sunny couldn't quite tell what kind of a fight this was. It wasn't a play fight but it wasn't exactly serious either. Willow rolled onto her back and drew her hooves up close to her body. Snowglobe jumped on top, intent on getting a blow in on the antagonizing mare. Willow bucked out, bringing her hind legs up into her attacker's belly. Snowglobe went sailing into the air. She struck the roof with a thud and landed on the kitchen table. One of the legs broke and the mare was sent tumbling to the floor with an assortment of plates and glasses. Willow looked genuinely surprised. She scrambled to her hooves and ran to Snowglobe's aid. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. Snowglobe groaned. "You hit me with a roof." Willow frowned. "Well, you were the one that hit the roof, but yeah, sorry." Moon was staring wide eyed at the white mare. "Willow?" she murmured. Willow turned to look at her. "How did you do that?" "You mean throw Snowglobe into the roof?" Willow asked casually. Moon nodded. "I don't know, I guess Snowglobe doesn't weigh very much. Maybe?" Sunny snorted, everypony turned to look at him. "Sorry," he said. "This just looks really funny." Dusty poked his head into the kitchen. "Is everypony alright? Ah heard a noise." "Yeah," Sunny replied. "Snowglobe just hit the roof." Dusty nodded. "Okay then." He made to leave, then did a double take. "Wait… what?" Moon chuckled. "It's okay, nothing major." Dusty still looked skeptical. "Oh yeah," Willow added. "Would you like some eggs for breakfast?" Dusty nodded again. "Sounds good to me." "I think you are out-ruled." Willow batted her eyes at the stunned mare on the floor. "You're strong," Snowglobe awed. Sunny could agree with the shell-shocked mare. Willow had thrown her like she was a bag of paper. He thought back to when Willow had charged right through the fence, or when she had broken the lock back in the tunnel. He couldn't help but wonder what was up with her. She wasn't normal. But he had known that since he had seen her eyes glowing in the tunnel. Sunny couldn't stand it anymore. "Willow," he asked tentatively. "Is something going on with you?" The white mare tilted her head to one side. A lock of her crimson mane fell into her face and she flicked it away. "No," she replied dumbly. Sunny sighed. "Come on Willow; you just threw Snowglobe like she was a balloon animal." Snowglobe chuckled and pointed a hoof up at the roof. "Look, I left a mark in the ceiling." Sunny looked up. There was, in fact, a Snowglobe-shaped indentation in the ceiling. Willow rolled her eyes. "Okay, if you really want to know, it's going to take me a while to explain. Brick!" she hollered. "Could you come and finish the food?" A moment later the brown stallion trotted into the room. "Thank you Brick," Willow shot the stallion a smile before turning back to them. "Let's find a comfortable place to sit if I'm going to tell you this. Better get Dusty too." "I'll get him," Moon offered. She left the kitchen to go find the blue pegasus. Willow led them to a sitting room. The mare sat down on a comfortable looking cushion and motioned for them to do the same. They sat on the opposite end of the room so each of them could look at Willow head-on. Snowglobe rubbed a spot on the back of her neck. "I think my neck must have hit a stud," she muttered. "Look, I'm sorry," Willow said, sounding sincere. "I didn't mean to throw you into the roof. It was an accident." Moon and Dusty entered the room. Moon took a seat beside Sunny while Dusty remained standing. "So," Willow started. "You are all sitting here looking at me because I need to tell you exactly what the hay is going on with me. I think I'll find this a lot easier to tell if you all hear this from the beginning. Plus Snowglobe hasn't heard the full story yet." Snowglobe opened her mouth to say something but Willow shot her a look. "Snowglobe, I swear it by Celestia, if you interrupt me while I'm talking I will throw you through the roof." Snowglobe decided not to speak. Willow tapped her hooves together. "Right, so let's start from the beginning. When all of this broke out, I was the first to know what was going on. Mainly because I watched as Sugar Apple slowly turned into one of them. Then next thing I know, he escapes and bites me. I managed to quell the virus, or so I thought. I did stop it, for a while at least. I stopped the original infection before it could spread any further than the wound, with penicillin and formalin," Willow smirked. "As Moon so greatly approves of, but two days after, I found myself turning. So I took a large dose of that unknown chemical. I just started calling it medical drain-o. So after taking that, I seemed to be fine, again. With that dosage I almost killed it. Almost, but it managed to stay hidden somewhere in my body. I started to feel its effects again back in the tunnel. So that night, as you all know, I took three times more than the last dosage of the stuff. That one nearly killed me, but it worked. I ran a few screens on myself last night. I am virus free." She smiled around at all of them in turn. "But that still doesn't explain why you've been acting so weird," Sunny said. Willow nodded. "I was getting to that. But this is the part I'm not quite clear on. Now while I did eliminate the virus; I think I acquired some of its traits. Like for instance, the strength. I noticed that the zombie ponies…" Willow stumbled. "Damn it," she muttered. "Now you guys got me saying it." She waved it away and continued. "With them, strength seems to be an attribute; considering doors don't seem to last very long if they want to get through them. Also, this one may come as a bit of a shocker, but I can see in the dark. So if I can, I bet they can too." "Whoa," Dusty awed. "You can see in the dark?" Willow nodded. "That's so cool." "Dusty," Moon face-hoofed. "That's not supposed to be cool." Willow shrugged. "Actually, it is kinda' cool." Moon rolled her eyes. "But, the point is that I somehow inherited the traits of our zombie friends. I don't know how it happened. Even after the virus is gone, the effects it had on my body still remain. I'm just glad I didn't inherit the desire to eat ponies along with the strength and eyesight. So there you have it," Willow chuckled. "I'm half zombie." Moon shook her head as if she were taking in too much information at once. "So let me get this straight?" she said. "You somehow managed to get zombie strength, and the eyesight thingy, yet you have no desire to eat ponies?" Willow lowered her eyes and Moon caught the motion. "Willow?" Moon asked tentatively. "What is it?" The white mare shuffled a hoof and looked back up at them. "I have plenty of self-control not to go taking bites out of ponies…. but…" Willow hesitated. "Meat does… it's not bad." She finished awkwardly. Snowglobe gasped. "You...? Meat?" Willow glared. "It's not like I chose to! I inherited certain traits of whatever those creatures have. I guess I kind of got the whole meat eating thing as well." Snowglobe continued to gape at Willow as if she were chewing on a foal. "Look Snowglobe, just because I can eat you, doesn't mean I will. Somehow I bonded with the virus but still managed to maintain my pony traits. I can still eat fruits and vegetables. But I can also eat meat." Every time the mare mentioned the meat eating part she cringed. Sunny frowned. "So you're not like… contagious or anything?" Willow shook her head. "Nope, I am one hundred percent safe. Like I said, I bonded with the virus. Don't ask me how, even I don't know that. But it's not in me anymore. I just have the after effects. So yes," she smiled. "It's still okay to hug me." Moon chuckled nervously. "No thanks. I would like to keep my ribs intact and un-crushed thanks." Willow took a sharp intake of breath. "I almost forgot." She looked at Sunny. "You aren't the only one who's immune anymore." Sunny looked around; but Willow's gaze was fixed on him. He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. But he had no idea why. "Why's that?" he asked cautiously. "Last night I did some testing on myself. I took a sample from some of the blood on Moon's shotgun. And I took some of mine. Apparently when I bonded with the virus I also, somehow, found some sort of immunity. The cells from the virus won't even touch mine. Well, they will touch. But they won't bond." "Hurray," Moon drawled sarcastically. "We found out how to make ponies immune. Just have a zombie pony bite them. Inject them with a bunch of drugs and embalming fluid. Then inject them with more drugs and hope they don't die. And then they might just be immune." Willow shrugged. "Maybe, or I might just be an exception. We can't really know unless we get an actual specialist to look at it." Snowglobe stood up and stretched. Sunny thought she seemed to do it a lot. If he didn't know any better he would say that she was over exaggerating it. Sunny looked at Moon, who rolled her eyes. She had been doing that a lot recently. Willow stood up as well. "I don't know about the rest of you." She shot a teasing look in Snowglobe's direction. "But I'm hungry." Dusty nodded. "Ah say we eat. Then we need to pack up and get out of here. We got quite a long ways to go, best to get started as soon as possible." * * * "I'm just curious," Sunny asked as they walked in the mid-day sun. "Is the road really the safest place to walk?" Dusty shrugged. "It's a wagon trail. Ah figure if we follow this, it'll take us straight to the next town. Besides, Ah've never been the best at navigation. All I really know is that Appleoosa's that way." He pointed a hoof down the dirt road. "Sounds good to me," Sunny replied. He was getting used to the battle saddle now. At first it had felt big and awkward. The bit that hung right under his jaw had been driving him insane as well. But now he had gotten used to his chin brushing the piece of metal occasionally. Sunny was starting to have doubts that there was even an apocalypse at all. So far he hadn't heard anything, seen anything, nothing. The only word was that of the two ponies who had pulled into town so long ago, and they were both dead now. What if they got to the next town to see all the ponies holding a big banner that said "FOOLED YA.'?" Sunny gave his head a quick shake. His mind was starting to wander. He was a little afraid of the ideas he might produce if he let it continue. "Does anypony have a pair of sunglasses?" Willow asked, almost pleadingly. Moon shot the mare a curious glance. "Why do you need sunglasses?" "Because," Willow replied. "I can barely see at all. The sun is blinding me. I think it has something to do with this night vision thing." "Sorry Willow," Snowglobe said. "I don't think any of us were thinking about sunglasses when we packed up." Willow nodded. "Right, well if you see a pair, please for the love of Celestia give them to me, before my eyes melt. I don't care if they're shaped like stars. I need them." "Sure can do," Snowglobe replied casually. Dusty sighed. "Ah really wish we had a sky wagon right now." Sunny frowned. "What's that?" Dusty chuckled. "What have you been living under a rock?" Sunny shot him a look. "Oh yeah right, you've never left Desert Sage." "Sadly, no." Sunny hung his head. "Mind telling me what a sky wagon is?" Dusty obliged. "Well, sky wagons are special wagons with magical talismans in them. They have to be pulled by pegasus ponies. They got really popular around the larger cities. One pegasus can usually pull a small to medium sized wagon fairly well. But if you get any larger than that then more are needed. The things either run off of a small generator or a spark battery. They're meant to get ponies places, and pretty fast too." Snowglobe nodded. "It's quite a genius design. Before sky wagons they had sky chariots. But with two pegasi pulling they could usually only carry the weight of about one or two ponies. The sky wagon uses magical energy to create an upward thrust, using the core structure itself as means of propulsion. With this, two pegasi can carry about ten or so ponies." Dusty looked puzzled for a moment. "Uh, yeah, what she said." he added dumbly. "Maybe we can find one." Sunny aimed for a cheerful note. Both Dusty and Snowglobe shook their heads simultaneously. "Not out here," Dusty said "You aren't going find a sky wagon anywhere this side of Canterlot," Snowglobe finished. "Well okay then," Sunny said. A sky wagon did sound pretty nice. Walking did get boring really fast. Sunny peeked into the back of a wagon as they passed it. Inside were two shot ponies. They had been dead long enough to start rotting. He shied away. The wagon had been heading towards Desert Sage. That wasn't a good sign. * * * A day later, they were still walking. The sun was low on the horizon, casting them in shadow as they walked. A wooden sign on the road read. 'YOU ARE NOW ENTERING NA LE.' The middle of the sign had been torn away so that the name of the town was no longer decipherable. Sunny could see the faint shapes of houses in the distance. The town didn't look very large at all. He guessed no more than two or three hundred ponies lived there, or, had lived there. "Do you think there are ponies there?" Moon wondered aloud. Willow shook her head. "Don't know, I don't see any smoke so I'll take that as a good sign." She nudged Brick. "What do you think?" The brown pony just shrugged. "I think so too." Willow replied. "The question is," Dusty said. "Do we want to risk it? It would be nice to stop and refill on water and sleep for the night." "Maybe there's a supermarket," Sunny voiced aloud. Snowglobe shot him a funny look. "We have plenty of food. Why the hay would you want to find a supermarket?" "Because there might be muffins there," he answered. Snowglobe looked puzzled. "He has a thing for muffins," Moon clarified. The gray mare nodded in partial understanding. Dusty chuckled. "So what do you all say?" he asked them all evenly. "Town or no town?" Sunny shrugged. "I could do with either." Dusty rolled his eyes. "Anypony else have an idea?" "It seems safe enough," Moon said. "It wouldn't hurt. I say we go to see what's up." "I guess we check out the town," Dusty said. * * * "Seems safe enough," Willow muttered in a perfect mock of Moon's voice. "Shut up!" the blue mare snapped. She fired her shotgun at a charging zombie pony and stopped to reload. "How was I supposed to know?" "I don't know, let's see." Willow reared up on her forelegs and delivered a heavy applebuck to a yellow zombie. "The fact that there were half eaten ponies in the streets and a big sign that said 'condemned,' right outside the town?" The pony she had bucked scrambled back to its hooves and charged at Willow again. The mare jumped into the air and came down right on top of the zombie pony. She drove it to the ground with multiple kicks to the head until she was pretty sure that it was dead. "Should have left me alone," Willow panted. Sure the whole getting infected thing sucked. But the strength was amazing! She couldn't wait to use the night vision to her advantage. Willow looked around the narrow road for more of them. Shops ran down both lengths of the street. A clothing store, bakery, general goods, a couple café's. Her eyes fell on a store with a large wooden sign on the front. It inconspicuously read. 'GUNS,' in big bold letters. "Dusty!" Willow yelled. The light blue pegasus fired of his pistol twice, then turned to face Willow. She pointed with a hoof to the store. Dusty's eyes lit up as he gazed at the old sign. "To the gumn shtore!" he yelled around the gun in his mouth. More zombie ponies were swarming in from every direction, out of houses, alleys, two story buildings, everywhere. "I think we may be in trouble!" Willow heard Sunny yell nervously. "Don't worry!" Moon yelled back. "From the look Dusty has in his eye, if we make to it that gun store we'll be fine!" The group fought their way across the street towards the store. Moon dispatched two more as they charged. "They just keep coming!" She tossed the spent shells and levitated two new ones from her flank. "I only have four shots left!" she called in worry. Willow had never really thought about it; but zombie hordes made a lot of noise. The little grunts and screams they made weren't that loud on their own. And when you get fifty of them doing it all at once it almost became deafening. Sunny fired his rifle at a pegasus pony swooping down at them. The shot struck it clean through the left eye and it thudded to the ground right in the middle of their group. "Nishe shot," Dusty complimented. They had formed a rough circle. Willow and Snowglobe stood in the center while the rest of them stood facing every angle. Brick fired two shots from his low caliber pistol and dropped a charging unicorn. The gun store was still a good twenty feet away. Willow watched as Moon fired off two of her last four shots. She cursed when one of them only skimmed her target. "Why are they all coming to my side!? I'm running out of ammo!" She loaded the last two shots into the double barrel. Willow could hear her companions shooting all around her, but she focused on Moon's side. So far the heat of them seemed to be running at the side the blue unicorn was covering. There was a click from beside her. "I'm out!" sunny yelled. "That was the last box!" Snowglobe yelled back. Moon fired at one that decided to try and jump at them from a building. The shot took out most of the creature's underbelly, destroying its internal workings. It hit the ground with a crunch and began dragging itself towards them, a heavy trail of blood in its wake. They reached the double wooden front doors of the store. Sunny pulled open one of the doors, which was miraculously unlocked, and they piled in. Moon used her last shot on a zombie running for the doorway. Sunny and Dusty slammed the doors shut. Willow looked around the room. "Well would you look at that," she said with mock cheer. "We're trapped." The only way in or out of the small shop was through the front doors, which were now being swarmed with zombies. The windows were barred, most likely to prevent robbery. Dusty didn't seem to mind. He looked around at interior of the store. "Look at all these guns," he awed. Willow couldn't see his mouth watering, yet. Behind the glass counter, guns covered the whole back wall. Pistols, rifles, and even more that Willow couldn't even identify. "You guys," Sunny said nervously, glancing at the door. "We all know what happens to doors when zombies want to get through them." Dusty tore his head away from the firearm display. "Okay," he instructed. "Everypony grab a gun." Willow hopped the counter and began looking for something to use. The others did the same. Moon cringed as the door behind them groaned. Willow looked for a gun she could shoot with her mouth. Her horn still wasn't working well enough to levitate anything heavier than a piece of paper. But that was another sign that she had killed the virus, her magic was starting to return. Her eyes fell upon a rather large rifle with a mouth bit. "What's that?" she asked Dusty, pointing a hoof at the unknown gun. Dusty gazed at it for a moment. "That's an earth pony rifle, only meant to be used while stationary." "Sounds good to me." Willow went to examine the rifle more closely. "So what are we doing?" Moon asked. "Are we just going to sit in here and shoot things?" Dusty shrugged. "I don't see anything else we can do. There's enough ammo in here to stack to the moon." Snowglobe looked around at the rows of guns. "Why would a small town have all these guns?" she asked. She nuzzled open a crate, which was filled to the top with unfilled magazines. "It's a small town," Dusty replied simply, making it hinted in his voice that the answer was obvious. The door cracked as one of the hinges bent. As quickly as she could, Willow lifted the rifle Dusty had described from the wall and set it on the glass countertop. "What kind of bullets go in this thing?" she asked. Dusty stuck his head under the counter and pulled out a green box. He tossed it on the table next to her. "These ones." He passed her two more boxes. She pulled it open with her mouth and emptied its contents onto the countertop. Twelve, very large bullets clattered onto the glass. "Jeez Dusty," she exclaimed. "What am I shooting with these things? Dragons?" The light blue pegasus pulled a more compact looking gun from the wall and set it on the counter. "Hey you chose it, not me," he chuckled. "Load up as many magazines as you can," he instructed, switching to a more serious tone. Snowglobe looked around at the guns skeptically. "What? We just shoot them until they stop trying to eat us?" She pulled a pistol from the wall. The mare handled the gun as if it were going to explode in her mouth. She set it down and levitated an ammunition box towards her. She reloaded Sunny's rifle. Willow looked over at Brick. He was sorting through a stack of crates in the corner. "What are you doing?" she asked, trotting over him. He didn't respond. The brown pony pushed over a whole stack of crates, which toppled to the ground, spilling more ammo and weapons across the floor. "Easy with the merchandise," Dusty grumbled. Brick ignored him, instead he drug a large rectangular crate, which had been on the bottom, out away from the wall. Willow watched curiously as Brick lifted the lid away. Inside was the biggest gun Willow had ever seen. It was as long as her. Willow couldn't imagine a pony being able to actually use it. It was huge. A small piece of parchment was taped to the bottom of the lid. Willow levitated it up to her, and read it. "Here you go, standard REA issue. I don't know why in the hay you would want this thing. Careful with this though. If you get caught with one of these you'll end up on the moon. And if anyone asks, you stole it. p.s. There are four extra boxes of disintegrating belts in the other crate; it's got an X on it." "What'chya got over there?" Dusty asked curiously. He crossed over to them and nudged Willow out of the way to peer down into the crate. He let out a little scream and looked away. Slowly, he looked back. "Now I know I'm dreamin.'" "Why's that?" Willow asked. The pegasus looked like he had just been invited to speak with Celestia herself. "Because," Dusty replied, dumbstruck. "That there is a Mare-60 military issue Equestrian chaingun. Ah saw one of these in a magazine once." "How the hay are we supposed to shoot it?" Willow asked. "It's almost bigger than me." Dusty smiled at Brick. "Ah got an idea." Willow snorted. "If you think it'll work." Dusty turned to look at the others behind the front counter. Willow followed his gaze. Sunny and Moon were both loading small magazines. Moon was having a much easier time. Snowglobe was readying weapons on the countertop. "Snowglobe," Dusty called. "Come help me with this. The mare looked up and trotted over to them. "Yeah?" she asked. Dusty pointed a hoof towards the machine gun. "Help me put this on Brick." Snowglobe shot him a look. "You're joking, right?" Dusty grabbed the gun by a handle and pulled it halfway out of the crate. He released it to talk. "No look, it's already got all the tetherin's and everythin.' Ah just need your help figurin' it all out." With some effort, the gray mare levitated the massive gun up to examine it. "It has the same setup as a battle saddle would," she observed. "Looks fairly simple. Weight displacement looks fine. Bit's already set up." She threw a glance at Brick. "If we're going to put it on him were going to have to rearrange those cases." Willow had gotten used to the bulky shape of Brick in the past few days. The two cases containing the unknown blue liquid were still strapped to his flanks. "I'll let you two figure out how to get that working," she said. "I'm going to go see what I can do to help Sunny and Moon." She left them to their experiment and crossed back over to the counter. The heavy front door cracked again. This time a few nails pulled free of the wall. Moon looked up worriedly at the sound. Willow found a few magazines for the gun she had picked out and set to loading them with the ammo Dusty had given her. She quickly realized that loading magazines was hard. She had to clasp the metal case in her hooves and load the bullets with her mouth, which was a tedious task. Willow wasn't much for guns, but she wasn't very shy of using them. If the need arose, she would gladly use one to save her life. And the need had arisen. The door shook again and part of the wooden frame fell to the floor. Willow looked over to the two that were still fussing with Brick. "Are you two done turning Brick into a machine gun yet?" "Almost," Snowglobe replied. She grabbed a strap in her mouth and crawled under Brick's belly to the other side of him. The brown stallion watched with mild interest, his face remaining impartial. Willow could see that they had taken the case on his left and moved it to his back. They had strapped the… Willow forgot what it was called. It was a really big machine gun. They had strapped the really big machine gun to his left flank so that it rested higher up. The gun itself had come all ready to be mounted on a pony. Willow could see that it had the same concepts as a battle saddle. A piece of metal curved around his front so that the trigger rested in front of his mouth. It was almost exactly the same as Sunny's, except it didn't use the saddle part. "Oh yeah," Willow told them. "There should be a box over there with an X on it. There should be more ammo for the gun in there." Dusty nodded in acknowledgement. Moon was looking worried. "You might want to hurry it up," she warned nervously. "I bet we only get another minute or so out of this door." As if her words had drawn a response, the door on the right buckled, the bottom half breaking free. Sunny tensed behind the counter, a good ten feet from the front door. A zombie tried shoving its way through the hole but Moon gave it a hearty blast with the double barrel. Dusty trotted over, they had finally finished turning Brick into a walking gun. He reared up and pulled a shotgun from the wall. He set it down next to Moon. "Ah reckon this one would be better. Holds more ammo and it's a pump action, specifically unicorns only." Moon looked at the double barrel that had been in her possesion since the hospital, then to the shiny new one. She shrugged and strapped the double barrel back to her flank. She levitated up the new one to inspect it. "What's so special about it?" she asked. "Nothing special," Dusty replied. "But it holds eight shots instead of just two and is easier to reload. Shotgun shells go in the bottom, bullets come out of the long part an' empty shells come out the top, that's all that really matters." "I thought it was illegal for shotguns to hold any more than three shots?" Snowglobe mused, having come over to hear the conversation. Moon started loading her new shotgun. Dusty turned to reply to Snowglobe. "Do you think the pony who owned this store gave a damn about what's legal if he's got that thing in here?" He motioned towards Brick's new gun. The answer seemed to satisfy the gray mare. Dusty turned to face Brick. He cringed as the door buckled further, threatening to collapse inward at any second. "We want to save as much ammo for that thing as possible. Only use it when it looks like we might be in trouble." Brick nodded and picked up a pistol from the countertop. Willow looked at the big brown pony and chuckled. "You look like a tank," she teased. He just shrugged. Willow rolled her eyes, subtly failing at another attempt to get a rise out of the silent pony. She took hold of the rifle she had set up and looked down the sights experimentally. She could see a zombie pony trying to push through a hole at the bottom of the door. She sighted in on it, flipped the safety catch, and fired. She was rewarded with the crimson splash of its head turning inside out. The rifle bucked her, hard. "Ouch," she gasped, rotating her jaw to make sure she hadn't pulled something. "Gun too big for you?" Dusty chided. "It kicks pretty hard; good thing it's mounted." Dusty took aim with a rather large mouth-held weapon. "No," she pouted. "I just wasn't ready." Snowglobe hesitantly levitated a pistol by her side. "Point and squeeze," she murmured. The pistol fired a shot into the door and Snowglobe let out a little squeak. Dusty tensed. "When that door goes down, shoot anything that moves." "Sure thing captain obvious," Willow jabbed. At that moment the right door gave an almighty groan and burst inward. The other door, not having anything to hold it in place, burst open as well. Moon was the first to fire. Her buckshot peppered the horde of zombies before they even had a chance to cross the threshold. And in a second, all havoc was unleashed. Everypony opened fire. Willow took careful aim with the rifle and sent a bullet right at a pink unicorn. Not only did the projectile hit the unicorn, it also hit four other zombies behind it. She took the kick much better now that she was prepared for it. They mowed down the first wave but they just kept coming. "Snowglobe, reload!" Sunny yelled, picking up a pistol from the desk and firing with that. The gray mare dropped her gun and set to reloading for Sunny. Dead zombie ponies rolled through the open doorway. One sprung over one if its fallen comrades and flew directly at the counter. Moon blasted it with the shotgun and it fell short. Its head struck the glass counter, sending splinters of glass from the point of impact. Willow fired again and was rewarded with five more dead zombies. "They're lining up like bowling pins!" she jeered. Snowglobe finished reloading Sunny's rifle and the orange pegasus took the bit of his battle saddle again, abandoning the pistol. "How many are there!?" asked Moon. Her shotgun clicked and she set to the task of reloading. To Willow's horror, slowly, the zombie ponies were advancing. They had pushed forward about halfway between the front door and the counter; and they were still coming. One of them broke off to the right and Dusty leveled it before it could sneak around to the side. The blue pegasus dropped his gun to yell. "If they fan out we're done for, now would be the time Brick!" The brown stallion stepped forward, almost casually, and took the firing bit in his mouth. The machine gun on his back blared to life. Empty bullet casings flew like popcorn kernels and the room was filled with the earsplitting noise of the automatic rifle. The wave of advancing zombie ponies was decimated, pushed back to the doorway. The high caliber bullets shredded anything unfortunate enough to be in way. "Sweet Celestia!" Sunny yelled. "That thing's shooting bullets like a garden hose!" "Yeah!" Dusty jeered as the horde was shredded. "Get some!" Willow fired once more, taking a few more. All of a sudden, it all stopped, the screaming, the shooting, the zombie ponies, everything. "Bit quiet," Willow murmured. Smoke hovered throughout the building, having accumulated from the gunfire. A zombie dug itself out of the pile of bodies stacked in front of the door and stumbled towards them. Willow still couldn't believe these things could take the kind of damage that they did. The monster had almost been scalped by a bullet and chunks of its neck and chest were blown out altogether. And yet, it was still trying to get them. Sunny fired a single shot and it dropped. Dusty chuckled, looking around at the scene. "Sweet Celestia, did you see all those zombies?" He trotted over to Brick to examine the weapon. Brick had only fired a good twenty rounds. And according to the ammo container connected to the gun, every container held a hundred bullets. "No, I think I missed them," Willow replied sarcastically. "Of course I saw them!" Moon hopped the counter into the main room. She had reloaded her shotgun and was looking around cautiously. "I doubt that was all of them. We need to grab as much ammo as we can and get out of here before we have to deal with more of them." Willow looked at the rifle she had used. "You know, as much as I loved trying to bash my teeth out with this thing, I think I'll leave it here." Dusty looked at the rifle and a curious look formed on his face. "Wait?" he asked. "Did you shoot that thing manually?" Willow shrugged. "Yeah, why?" Dusty gawked at her. "Willow, that thing's designed to be mounted to a solid object. With a bullet that size, it kicks hard enough to break a pony's neck." "Willow strength," she replied cheekily. "Oh yeah," he jabbed. "I forgot, you're part zombie." She shrugged off his comment and pulled a few boxes of ammo from under the counter. She didn't really care much what kind it was, as long as it shot things. She dropped the boxes in an empty pocket in her barding. She laughed silently to herself. Medical supplies in one pocket, bullets in the other, what kind of a doctor was she? "You know," Snowglobe spoke aloud as they prepared to move out. "I was always fascinated by the way guns work. But I really don't like shooting them much." She set to the task of reloading Sunny's rifle. "Hold up a minute," Dusty said to Snowglobe. He pulled a black rifle from the wall and brought it over to them. "Let's change out Sunny's rifle." "What's the difference?" the orange pegasus asked curiously. Dusty crossed to Sunny and undid one of the clasps holding the old rifle to his saddle. "Yours only holds six shots," he clarified. "Also, it stores its own ammo. This new one has a newer mechanism. So that means it's a lot harder to jam. It's also clip fed." Dusty pulled the old rifle from Sunny's back and replaced it with the new. "The clips for this gun that we have here hold fifteen bullets. Plus, the advantage of the clip is that you can reload it by yourself. It's still kinda' hard, but you can do it." Sunny nodded in understanding. "Sounds good to me." Dusty finished hooking up the firing mechanism. "You're all good." He inserted a loaded magazine into the sleek black rifle. "Point and shoot." He looked over at Snowglobe. "Find as many bullets for this rifle as you can. Since you kind of ended up being Sunny's dedicated support pony, you should probably have some of his magazines on you." Snowglobe nodded. "Look at Dusty laying down the law," Willow teased. The light blue pegasus snorted and went back to loading his saddlebags with more ammo. He pulled open the crate with the X on it and set to filling his saddlebags with the spare ammo containers. Willow wondered just how much he was carrying. His bags were still loaded up with cans from the hospital. "Do you want me to carry some of that Dusty?" she asked him. "I do have the benefit of zombie strength after all." He shook his head. "Naw, but you could carry us out some guns. It wouldn't hurt to have extras." Willow nodded. She headed over to the wall and examined the rows of firearms. She realized there was a small problem. There wasn't any more room in her barding. She looked around for something she could use to carry them. She found her solution under on one of the display shelves in the front counter. In the glass fronted counter was a set of saddlebags. A label in front read, 'GREAT FOR STORAGE.' Willow figured with a label that big, they had to hold something. She walked over to the counter and tried the sliding door. Of course it was locked. She raised a hoof and kicked in the glass front. There wasn't any time to fiddle with locks right now. Willow pulled out the bags and examined them. They were a desert tan, two large bags with smaller pockets on the outside. They were designed to be worn over the back, with a strap on the bottom to run around your belly. There were also multiple undoable straps on the outside that would suffice for holding larger guns. Willow picked up the bags and slung them over her back. They would do quite nicely. "Hey Snowglobe?" she asked. The gray mare looked over at her. "Could you do my belly strap?" Snowglobe rolled her eyes. "Really, why am I the one who ends up dressing you all?" She trotted over Willow and grasped the strap in her mouth. She ducked down below Willow for a moment and fumbled with the mechanism. Willow felt a little awkward with the unicorn's head brushing her belly. Snowglobe finished and gave the strap a hearty tug, setting it tight. "There, all set." Willow shot Snowglobe a questioning look. "Why didn't you just use your magic?" Snowglobe flushed. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. "Because," she finally answered. "I just wanted to, you know, use my mouth." She gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, um, thanks." Willow replied awkwardly. Snowglobe went an even deeper shade of red. "I'm going to go get guns now." Willow turned her back on the gray mare, trying not to blush herself. She headed over to the wall of guns and gathered four pistols. She dropped them in one of the larger bags, them and a few extra magazines. After a few minutes, Willow could have considered herself a walking armory. Both bags were filled with small weapons and extra magazines, all of which had been filled. The smaller pockets on the outside mostly held boxes of ammunition. Then she had two larger rifles strapped on either side of her, along with one on her back. Dusty looked at her and chuckled. "Well why don't you just take the whole store. Isn't that heavy?" He motioned in her general direction. "You got enough guns there to arm a small town." She shook her head. "Not really." She paused. "Well, I know it's supposed to be heavy. But really it feels like I'm carrying bags full of toilet paper." Dusty shook his head, smiling. "We got ourselves a mobile armory." "We all ready to move out?" Sunny asked them all. Willow nodded. "I'm ready." Everypony else agreed as well. Willow looked around at the rest of them. They were all stocked and loaded down with weapons. She caught Snowglobe's eye. The gray mare hurriedly looked away. Willow couldn't help but smile. As a group, they left the gun store. Back out on the street, the sun was low on the horizon. Dead zombies lay scattered all around the front door. More milled around in the street, either having not joined the onslaught, or had simply arrived late to the party. One made the mistake of running at them and Moon sent part of its head in the other direction with a well-placed shot. Willow couldn't believe how temperamental they were. Zombies were totally unpredictable. Sometimes they would spot you and attack on sight. But sometimes you could trot right up to one and poke it in the eyeball and the thing would ignore you. But if one did decide to try and eat you, it wouldn't stop until it either killed you or you killed it. They walked slowly down the main street, towards the other end of the town. Sunny, Moon, and Dusty walked at the front of the group, shooting anything that moved. Willow fell in stride beside Snowglobe, who was trying her best to avoid her. "So how are you doing?" she asked, poking at conversation. "Fine," Snowglobe replied dismissively. Willow smiled mischievously. "Get a nice peek?" Snowglobe shot her a brooding look, her face going red again. "I'm not answering that." Willow gave her a firm nudge. "You know you're cute when you're embarrassed." Snowglobe balked at her, eyes going wide. "Are you really—" she stuttered. "Did you just…?" Willow chuckled. "Maybe. But one rule, no more peeks unless I say so." Snowglobe stammered, at a loss for words. Her mouth dropped open. Willow walked ahead and gave the mare a flick with her tail. Willow looked ahead; they were nearing the edge of town. * * * "Find anything good?" Sunny asked Dusty as they dug through the crashed skywagon. "Not really," the pegasus replied. "Nothing but an empty can of beans and a couple low caliber rounds." They had been walking for the past three days. Dusty had been right about the water shortage. Without the imported rain from Cloudsdale, water was becoming scarce. They had spotted the downed wagon from the trail. They had all agreed it may hold something valuable, and was worth scavenging. It had crashed on the side of a ridge, about halfway up a rather large hill. Dusty had said the detour on the way to Appleoosa anyways, so there was no harm in checking the wagon. To their mild disappointment, there was nothing in the wagon to be found. On the other hoof, there had been two rotten corpses. Sunny found that skywagons looked nothing like a normal wagon. Instead of wheels, they had runners. Unlike most wagons, which were made of wood; the skywagon was made of metal and aluminum. It was also fully enclosed. Barely padded seats lined both walls and another row went down the middle. If four ponies squeezed side by side, they could barely fit in a row across the width of the space. Snowglobe told him that this had been a twenty seater; that, and it took a pegasus team of four to pull it fully loaded. Its outer shell was painted a dull green and had once sported windows. They had all been shattered in the crash. From the look of it, Sunny could tell it had crashed rather hard. The entire metal frame had bent so that the skywagon had taco'd in the center. "I wonder why they crashed," Moon wondered aloud, digging through a set of discarded saddlebags. She levitated out a very large bag of bits and tossed the gold coins without a second glance. Sunny spotted something tucked halfway under one of the cushions. He bent his head down and picked it up. He carried it over to a seat and set it down. It was a journal. Sunny flipped it open to see that there was writing in it. Only the first few pages had been used. He read the first entry. =ooOOoo= Canterlot is still on full alert. Something bad is happening. We saw the REA in the streets earlier. What would the Royal Equestrian Army be doing in Canterlot? We never have any problems here. I guess we'll find out soon enough. =ooOOoo= Sunny looked around at the others. They were still scrounging for supplies, not really paying him any attention. He read on. =ooOOoo= The entire city got infected with what everypony was calling some sort of a virus. Now I wish I'd left with the paranoid ones. They were right. I can see them walking around outside. Like they aren't ponies anymore. Me and six other ponies are hiding in this office building. A sky wagon flew by about an hour ago. They were playing a broadcast. They said that the REA was setting up evac points all over the city, to help the ponies who were still trapped get away. The closest one they named was on the roof of a hotel not too far from here. The others have been talking. I think we're going to try for it. We made it! We actually made it to the roof. We lost Breeze along the way though. She was the only pony who was willing to talk to me. The only one that was as scared as I am. I saw those things corner her. But I ran away. I left her to die after she was the only nice one. I know there was nothing I could have done. But it still feels like my fault. One of the flying pegasi is acting kind of funny. I think he may have that thing that everypony else is getting. But I don't want to say anything. The last thing I want to do right now is cause trouble, especially when we're on our way out of here. They took us up into the air about ten minutes ago. They say were going to Las Pegasus. Apparently it's still safe there. =ooOOoo Sunny felt his own worry building as he read the contents of the journal. He turned the page. There was only one entry left. =ooOOoo= I knew there was something wrong with him. He turned and bit the flier next to him as we were crossing the desert. He pulled out of his harness and actually managed to end up inside the wagon. He bit me as well. Me and another pony managed to push him off. But it's too late now. I'm starting to feel sick to my stomach and I'm starting to feel really cold. We crashed. With only three pegasus left flying the wagon, and one injured. They couldn't hold all our weight. We crashed somewhere in the desert. I don't know where. Everything's spinning. But all the ponies on the wagon are looking at me funny. I think they are going to kill me. Me and the other pegasus that got bit. I know they are. =ooOOoo= Sunny reexamined the two corpses on the floor. One was a gray pegasus, the other an orange unicorn mare. Now that he looked closer, he could see that both had been shot. Sunny fought the urge to vomit. Reading the stories of things happening was almost worse than actually watching them happen. "Ah don't think there's much here," Dusty said idly. "The ponies who crashed this thing must have made off with everything of value," Willow added. Moon looked curious. "I wonder where this wagon came from." "Canterlot," Sunny replied. She shot him a look. He passed her the journal. She skimmed it, her eyes widening as she turned the page. "So," she said absently. "Canterlot really is gone then. I had always hoped that maybe it was… it's just gone." "What is it?" Willow asked, peering around Moon to read the journal as well. Snowglobe sighed, looking around the battered interior of the wagon. "No way we're going to fix this thing up," she said, totally off topic. "Dusty looked at her and chuckled. "Even if we could fix this thing up, there's no way ah could fly it by myself. It takes twenty wingpower to fly this thing empty. Last ah checked, ah only pull about twelve. Willow nodded. "That's pretty impressive Dusty." The pegasus gave a cheerful flutter of his wings. "Well thanks," he said. "Think it's time we got going?" Sunny suggested. He didn't like being in the wagon. It made him feel claustrophobic, which was strange because he only got claustrophobic in the dark. He scolded himself. What was he thinking? He had been shooting zombie ponies the past few days, and he was scared of a crashed wagon. "I've seen all I need to," Moon answered. "Not much to be found here," Dusty added. Together, they left the twisted wreckage of the wagon behind. Unlike the area around Desert Sage, the landscape here was rocky and jagged. Not much grew other than scraggly bushes and shrubs. Occasionally, sand filled rocky hollows where it had been blown in and trapped. Sunny could consider this a fairly inhospitable environment. Maybe that was why they hadn't seen any zombie ponies for the last two days. Water was scarce; maybe they needed it just as bad as normal ponies did. "Who's up for a little rock climbin?'" Dusty asked with layered enthusiasm. Willow snorted. "Sure, we climb the rocks while you fly around with your head in the clouds?" "Hey now," the pegasus chided. "Ah can't help the fact that ya don't have wings." "I should make you carry me," Willow added jokingly. Dusty stood in front of the white mare, sizing her up. "I think I could carry you. But I'm not so sure about the gun store on your back." Willow got a mischievous look in her eye. "I doubt you could carry me. I'm way too much mare for you to handle." Dusty grinned evilly. Sunny knew what was coming next. Willow had set herself up for this one. "Ah think you might be right," Dusty said with mock thoughtfulness. "You'd have to lose about ten pounds first." Willow's haughty expression was quickly washed away to be replaced with one of defeat. "Well," she said dejectedly. "I had that one coming." Dusty snickered. "She's not fat," Snowglobe spoke up. "She just looks fat cause' she's always carrying all that stuff. She's actually quite average weighted." Willow rolled her eyes. "Thanks Snowglobe," she said, grinning slightly. Snowglobe flushed. Sunny shot the gray unicorn a curious glance. Had she just stood up for Willow? Willow was like fair game in their little group. She picked on all of them and they all teamed up on her back. Now Snowglobe was defending her? Sunny decided to stop thinking about it. Nothing his newly-found friends did made any sense. He found it rather funny how Brick was always there, tagging along behind them. None of them really ever gave him a second glance except for Willow. He was just kind of… there. He was like a big light brown blob on the edge of everypony's vision. But if he were gone, they would all notice it immediately. The machine gun the size of a small pony gave him a little more of an impact now though. They started up the rocky slope. Reddish-brown rocks jutted from the steep ascent every few feet. Sunny found the stones rather peculiar in shape. Instead of the normal smoothed rocks around Desert Sage, these were square and much more jagged. His hooves slipped on a lose patch of shale and he slid back down the hill a pace. He walked around the loose section and continued on. A minute later, they crested the hill. By now the sun was midway in the sky. It shone down on the harsh landscape, which provided no shelter whatsoever from the sun's harsh rays. Sunny found himself feeling rather hot. "It's a little hot out," Moon voiced his thoughts aloud. Sunny looked out ahead and barely suppressed a moan. Rocky ridges like the one they had just climbed stretched on for miles. But much further beyond the ridges was a flat. And in the center of that flat was a small spot. "Look!" Willow exclaimed, pointing a hoof at the spot Sunny had just noticed. "Is that Appleoosa?" he asked. Dusty nodded. "Ah think so." "Well let's go then." Willow took an insistent step forward. "It's not that far." Sunny looked out over the rows of ridges and hills. Sure, maybe they weren't too far away from the town. But climbing those ridges would triple the length of the walk. "Sure," he chuckled. "Not that far." =I have decided. I am changing to the 'Mature' tag. I could keep the gore down, but I can write the story with more effect and feeling if I use gore. So for any of you under 18, sorry :P =And I do actually still have an editor. Due to misunderstanding I stated I did not in the last chapter. Thank you Turtle. =Please, leave a comment or something about your favorite part. I want to see what the few ponies who read this have to say about what I write. ~Sorren 


	8. Chapter 8

Sunny felt a hoof jabbing him in the side. **came the impatient voice of Willow. **

**he moaned, rolling to his other side to put his back to the white mare. **

**Willow prodded him again. **

**He batted her hoof away with annoyance. Sunny opened his eyes, only to be blinded by sunlight. He closed his eyes hurriedly. Slowly, he opened them again, this time more prepared for the harsh morning light. He sighed at the site of Moon. She had slept using his flank as a pillow, again. He had pushed her off before he had fallen asleep. Of course she would go back to using him as a pillow, no matter what he said. **

**He nudged her with a forehoof. she asked, still half asleep. **

**t I say you aren he asked her. **

**Moon raised her head to gaze at him, her mane disheveled from sleep. Stray stands of blue hair hung in her eyes and around her neck. t allowed to, doesn **

**he grumbled. **

**She pushed herself up and planted her hooves on his belly. she chided. **

**Sunny sat up and looked around, taking in his surroundings. Everything looked different in the early morning light. They had set up camp here in the dark, having decided it would be too hard to descend the ridge at night. The flatlands stretched out ahead and below. The distant spot of Appleoosa could be seen as well. It was much closer than yesterday, but still looked a ways off. They had a good aerial view from the height of the ridge. Next to the town was a rocky outcrop, and from what he could tell, an apple orchard. From here, the trees looked green and healthy. Sunny found this rather surprising. Ever since the infection broke out, there hadn**You guys!Look!Already saw that while you were sleeping. That

**Sunny muttered. He turned his back on Willow and gazed hopefully at silhouette of the town in the distance. **

**Moon trotted up beside him. she asked him. **

**Sunny nodded. He could hear the sound of the rest of the camp stirring behind him. Dusty was muttering to himself about food. Snowglobe was telling Brick something about the machine gun mounted to his flank. The brown pony had slept with his gear on. **

**he heard Willow call. **

**Snowglobe stammered. **

**Moon leaned up against Sunny. He shot her a look that implied, Moon shot her own look back. she asked defensively. **

**he asked her, feeling slightly flustered. She nuzzled the underside of his chin, sending a shiver up his spine. **

**She flicked him with her tail. **

**m pretty sure I do.**Oh hey, would you look at that,Dusty has my saddle ** he greeted. **

**he replied. **

**The light blue Pegasus motioned towards the supplies set out on the rocks. through my bags.**You were carrying all that?Ah suppose all of this might have been a little guess I could leave the blender,Why the hay are you carrying around a blender?Well thatYa know, ah don

**Sunny said dismissively. **

**Dusty nodded absently. He stared at the pile of supplies a moment longer. ll get packed up now. Looks like everypony is fixin **

**Sunny left him to his packing. Brick was sitting quietly, looking out over the barren landscape at the rising sun. Willow was sitting next to a very red Snowglobe. **

**re evil!**What can I say?I

**s going on over here?**Nothing really,s eyes gleamed.

**Snowglobe balked. she spluttered, searching for words. The gray mare was inventing whole new colors to blush. **

**Sunny joked in a scolding tone. re going to be traveling, Snowglobe needs to be sane.**I** She gave Snowglobe a heavy nudge, almost unbalancing the mare. She stumbled sideways to regain her balance. t do it again **

**Sunny laughed; even though he had no idea what was going on. Sunny looked around. There wasnt yet gotten too hot. The temperature in the early morning must have been a perfect sixty. He closed his eyes as a cool breeze washed over him. Once again he was overwhelmed by a false sense of tranquility. Right now, there were no zombies. No shooting things. Just six friends camped out on a ridge with a lot of guns. Something redbacks did every weekend. **

**Sunny headed over to his gear and set to the task of getting ready. The battle saddle proved very difficult to equip on his own. Snowglobe spotted his trifles and trotted over to help him. **

**he said as the unicorn mare fastened the straps that sinched the saddle to his back. **

**t mention it,t had to fire it yet; but he almost wanted to. The sleek black rifle was larger and lighter than his previous one. **

**Sunny asked. **

**Dusty replied, packing another item into one of his seemingly bottomless bags. He made a reach for the blender. **

**Sunny said warningly. **

**He froze. He chuckled, going a little red. He moved past the blender and attacked the pile of ammunition. **

**Moon was still standing where Sunny had left her. He was worried he had done something to offend her. Sunny thought his actions over. He had been rather rude in response to her motions. She had taken him by surprise. He had always known that she had liked him; but he had never thought that she really liked him. The thought was rather uncomfortable. **

**Snowglobe seemed to take notice to Moon as well. The gray mare trotted over and gave her a hearty nudge. she said. re about to get going.**That looks like an easy way down!Once we manage to get off this ridge, Appleoosan a good hours trot!t of had the ability to fly, he would have been a blue splotch on the rocks below.

Sunny couldnt get over the fact that she looked like an armored wagon. Almost nothing of her white coat could be seen apart from her head and lower legs. There were six rifles strapped to her saddlebags. They hung lengthwise with her body. Many smaller weapons filled the inner pockets.

Brick was a pretty good sight as well. The chain gun tethered to his right flank was almost too much. The black enamel gleamed in the early morning sunlight. Sunny was glad to have Brick with them. Even a mindless zombie pony would have enough wits about it to be scared of that gun. There was no real way to say for sure, but Sunny guessed that the weapon weighed quite a bit. It was about as long as BrickBe glad of your wings Dusty!Hey, you got some too,No fair,You have your zombie endurance thing so you don

**m also carrying a gun store on my back,t even broken a sweat. He was surprised at how fast her crimson mane had returned to its original color. The effects of the medical drain-o, as Willow had taken to calling it, had caused her mane to go gray at the base. Since then the hair had grown out an extra inch, leaving a gray streak in her mane. **

**Another thought stuck him. Willow was about his age. She had had that young-mare glow to her. But she no longer held that appearance. Her eyes looked sunken and dull. Her eye color had somehow managed to turn to a bloody orange. Her white coat didn**What are you looking at?t even noticed her looking back. I was just thinking of the way your appearance has changed ever since the first time I saw look

**Willow nodded solemnly, her eyes clouded with sadness. she muttered. She looked at the ground. When she looked up, all traces of sadness were gone, to be replaced by her normal cheery aura. s over,**Let** Willow nudged an indignant Snowglobe to her hooves. **

**Sunny noticed Moon looking at him funny. It wasn**It** she commented idly. ll just take a while since were climbing down diagonally.**Really?t landed on a bed of pillows.

Vision still blurring, she looked around.

**a voice called from above. Willow turned her head to the voice. She would have stood up had she believed she was in any condition to do so. Instead, she rolled over to her side, having initially landed on her belly. The movement sent a wave of searing pain through her body. **

**She cringed, fighting back the urge to scream. she wondered to herself. **

**the urgent voice called again. This time she was able to decipher the voice as Sunny**I** she croaked, not even able to produce more than a whisper. She coughed deep in her throat and spat blood onto the rocks. she chuckled dryly. **

**She looked back up at the towering cliff face. She had fallen a good two hundred feet. Theoretically, she shouldnt too happy. She, rather painfully, reached back and fished a healing potion from her saddlebag. **

**She uncorked the bottle with her magic, glad her horn was finally performing well enough to conjure basic magic. Downing the deep purple liquid sent a wave of relief through her body, reducing the sharp jolts of pain to dull throbs. She could feel her ribs slowly lacing back together, the internal wounds healing themselves. **

**At times like this, she really loved magic. Of course magical healing was still a fairly new technology. It had only been invented by a very clever unicorn about a year ago. But the effect had been booming. The methods and spells had extended to every corner of Equestria in a matter of days. She thought back. Lots of things had changed recently. The creation and mass use of weapons, healing spells and potions, the urbanization of larger cities. It was almost saddening to see the way things were turning out. They were losing what made them ponies, instead enjoying the pleasures of life made easy and enjoyment of everything indoors. It was a good thing some places like Ponyville still shunned it. **

**When Willow felt the magic had run its course, she rolled onto her belly and placed her hooves gingerly below her. With some effort and much anticipated pain, she managed to push herself to a sitting position. The taste of blood filled her mouth. For some reason, it didn**Don** she gasped. **

**Dusty asked worriedly. **

**Willow rubbed a slowly healing gash on her flank and winced. she replied. m not a Willow spot on the rocks. But I certainly cant hurt.**It that zombie thing,Think it like, strengthened your bones too?Must have,You sure you** Willow nodded, not wanting to speak in case she were to spit out more blood. **

**Dusty raised his head upward. he bellowed. s alright!**You need to get back up there,What about you?Is taking effect. I

**The pegasus looked skeptical, but nodded. He smiled. **

**re there to catch me,**Worst luck in Equestria,t know why she hadnt quelled the pain. The landscape here was somewhat level and proved easy for travel. She looked back at her monstrous arsenal. It was a weird feeling carrying all that weight and not having it be too heavy.

She had crushed the scope on one of the rifles in her fall. **she muttered. **

**Willow set off along the edge of the cliff, towards the point where she assumed her friends would be reaching the bottom. She favored the right leg over the left, having hurt it in the fall. The bone may have been broken; but she hadnt any particular tune. The various pitches and tones modulated with her current pace. She hopped a small trench and tried not to wince. Her stomach growled hungrily at her. Willow wished there was some food in her bags. Dusty had most of the food; and considering Dusty was about two hundred feet above her, food was not an option at this time. **

**Willow had never handled being bored very well. She would always find little ways to amuse herself. After about ten minutes, she found herself hopping from rock to rock. The goal was not to touch the sand. If she touched the sand, she lost. This had been one of her favorite games as a filly. Her mother had always told her she had the best imagination. **

**For the first time since the infection broke out, Willow thought about her parents. They lived in Fillydelphia. When Willow had decided she wanted to be a doctor, her parents hadns gasp of terror at the sight of her foalt exactly drowning in bits. After a while, one thing led to another, and she wound up in Desert Sage. **

**Willow hadnt want any news. Good, or bad, it would just send her mind reeling. **

**Her hoof missed the rock she had been aiming for and she landed unsteadily in the dirt. she swore quietly. She rolled her eyes at her own clumsiness and came eye to eye with another pony. She cried out in surprise and backpedaled away from the surprising confrontation. She had been so busy looking at the ground that she hadnt trying to eat her face. It just stood there, staring blankly at her. **

**Willow took a cautious step forward. As she had predicted, there was no reply. It just continued to gaze slack jawed at her. **

**Willow was totally off guard when it sprung at her. She reared up to meet it but the zombie had the benefit of momentum. Willow was pushed over onto her back. Before she could even register what was happening, she was pinned. The yellow unicorn snarled and lunged at her face. She dodged and it got a mouthful of sand. It reared up for another go. **

**Willow protested. t ready! She didns neck was right in front of her face. Willow pushed her head up, ignoring the tearing pain in her right ear, and fastened her teeth in the ponyt seem to bother her. **

**She looked around, then down at the dead pony. **

**Well, she was hungry. **

**Willow gasped, horrified at her own thoughts. she choked. s name are you thinking Willow?**At least you** she told herself. She wiped a foreleg across her face, trying to clean some of the blood form her eyes. **

**She set off again. For good reasons, she no longer felt the urge to hop rocks. She still was in partial denial about what she had just done. She had just pulled out a pony**Ouch,Worst luck ever,There,No more zombies catching me without a gun from now be fun explaining this one,t that far down. But weaving a horizontal path back and forth all the way down took a while.

s alright?I don

**the pegasus replied. He chuckled. potion an **

**Brick kept throwing worried glances over the edge of the cliff. Moon assumed he was looking for Willow. From the point of Willowt hold the same endurance as the white mare and might not cope as well with a couple hundred foot drop. **

**Moon spared a glance at Sunny. She was worried she had been much too persistent. **

**Sunny was a strange one. Before the infection, stallions had been all over her. She hadnt want a single thing to do with her. She almost couldn**I am so tired of climbing things,Those flatlands are looking really nice right about now.I would like to get out of the desert,We arens just going to keep getting hotter from here.

Moon jumped down a small ledge. From here, the narrow trail doubled back, still leading down. They continued along the new route for a while.

**a distant voice called. **

**Moon stopped. So did Snowglobe, Sunny, and Brick. Dusty remained hovering above. **

**Snowglobe peered over the edge. **

**Moon looked over the edge as well. About a hundred feet down, a pony stood looking up at them. **

**the mare called. s the mailmare with your monthly subscription of s gonna **

**s Willow,**How are you doing down there!?Pretty good!You totally missed the party! I dons a bit bumpy!We** Snowglobe yelled in response. **

**ll catch you!t see the white mare**I think I

**They continued on along the ridge. Willow trotted below them. Sunny threw a glance down at her as they walked. he said quietly. s the only one keeping us all from going completely insane.**Why

**Sunny searched for a good explanation. he finally answered. s just so cheerful. But its like shes nice. If that makes sense.**Her sarcasm makes things , I can see how that makes , she

**Moon rolled her eyes at him. t make any sense.**What happened?s face was stained blood-red, along with her underbelly. Her whole front and forelegs were stained as well. A fresh pink scar ran along her ear.

Willow shrugged.

**Dusty asked dumbstruck. to drink a bucket of paint?**No, a zombie tried to eat still doesn

**she replied simply. She wiped a forehoof across her cheek, but only succeeded in smearing the blood further across her face. **

**Snowglobe approached Willow and looked the mare over sternly. she said insistently. **

**Willow groaned. Snowglobe reached out a hoof but Willow batted it away. t touch me,**The blood is contagious.A zombie jumped on me and pinned me on my back. It wouldn

**Moon would have taken the mare**You bit a zombie** Moon asked disbelievingly. **

**Willow nodded proudly. **

**Snowglobe gagged and hung her head hurriedly. Sunny cringed. s enough,**What?You were the ones who , you

**Willow smiled. t covered in blood right now that would turn you into a zombie, I would jump on you.**Now I glad you

**They set off, walking towards the distant shape of Appleoosa. **

**Willow said to Snowglobe. ll make sure not to break anything when I jump on you.**Sounds fair,I** she declared. **

**Dusty nodded. he reached back and dug through one of his bags for a moment. He emerged with a can of cooked carrots. He held it out to Willow, who took it thankfully. **

**re actually hungry?**Even after eating a zombie pony?I didn** She turned to Dusty. **

**The pegasus shook his head. **

**Willow drawled. re carrying a whole thrift store on your backt have a can opener in there?**Never shecind,There,A little hungry there?I can eat you if you** The mare spoke jokingly, the tone of her voice resurging them that she would never dream of it. But Moon couldn**So your magic works again?A little,I can levitate light things, but nothing heavy that normal?Is what normal?Well, most ponies

**Willow squinted. s not. My magic She levitated a small stone from the ground and brought it up to her face. Her eyes widened at the sight of the crimson glow and she absently dropped the stone. s new.**Did it mutate with the virus?Dons red 

**Willow looked down at her coat. she said flatly. **

**re concerned about looks right now?**Not now,I used to work at a me; I know how hard it is to get blood out of your mane, or your coat.

**Sunny said idly. t get you.**Good, you shouldn

**The silhouette of Appleoosa loomed ahead. Sunny said cheerfully. **

**Their hopes were steadily growing. Appleoosa did in fact look inhabited. Smoke rose from the center of town and a barrier appeared to have been constructed around the small settlement. From their angle, train tracks could be seen running into town from the left, and out at the other end. **

**Snowglobe said, peering at the constructed barrier. **

**Most of the area around the town were flatlands, dry and cracked form the continual heat and lack of water. Grass had once grown in this area, but without the springtime rain, it had all died off. A large apple orchard sat off to one side. A barrier had also been constructed around that, although not nearly as large as the one around the town. **

**Sunny idly kicked a small stone, sending it skittering across the cracked earth. The ground shook. Sunny froze. He looked at the stone curiously. Cautiously, he stepped forward and kicked the stone again. The ground beneath him shook. **

**Moon stopped to look at him curiously. she looked at the rock, her expression unreadable. **

**m not sure,**Sunny,Stop lookin

**Sunny looked up and gasped; the others portrayed their surprise in multiple different articulations. **

**Four, very large shapes were rapidly closing in on them. A cloud of dust trailed in their wake. **

**s that?**Ah

**Willow observed nervously. she commented idly. t like the way they She chuckled but trailed off to a worried groan. **

**Sunny heard the metallic click of Brick readying his machine gun. **

**Snowglobe folded her ears. t we?**Yep.t really happen.

Now that the buffalo were in view, Sunny could make out their features. The lead buffalos tombstone-like teeth could be seen through its drawn lips. Large, bloodshot eyes gleamed hungrily at the group. The other three shared the same appearance.

s sake!The damned things are zombies!t even phased. He fired again, still to no effect.

Dusty opened fire with Valediction. Moon lowered her shotgun and instead pulled out a pistol. Sunny fought the urge to hold his ears as Brick opened up with his machine gun.

The sheer amount of overwhelming gunfire took its toll the beast. It staggered and tumbled to the dirt.

Sunny would have cheered, had there not been three more. He turned to see Willow let loose with an automatic pistol, one of her better presents from the gun store. Her grip held firm and almost every bullet struck its mark. The left buffalo fell back and shook its head, having taken a generous amount of lead to the skull.

Brick strafed the other two with heavy machine gun fire. Willow nudged Sunny forcibly. **she insisted. **

**Sunny yelled, drawing everyponys chaingun as they ran. **

**t even know buffalo could get infected,**Apparently they ** Moon yelled worriedly. **

**Sunny looked over at Willow. Her face portrayed both anger and fear. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. The white mare reached back and dug in one of her saddlebags. A moment later, she emerged with a round piece of metal about the size of an apple. **

**s that?**Thing that goes boom,The box said grenades,What do those do?s pace. **he jeered. **

**They were close enough to the town now for Sunny to see shapes moving atop the barrier. Another ten seconds and they**Willow!What are you doing?Keep running,t have much of endurance for running.

Willow motioned for Brick to fall back and the two of them let Snowglobe overtake them. The beast was near feet from them. Its mouth salivated in eager expectation.

Sunny looked on in horror. He wanted to help but his legs continued to carry him forward.

Willow and Brick exchanged a glance. Then the white mare did something nopony had been expecting. She sprung into the air and landed on BrickWhat** she asked Sunny in awe. **

**Willow balanced precariously on the stallions back to the buffalo. **

**s insane!**Leave her alone!s back.

It growled and tried to buck her off but Willow entangled her hooves in its thick fur and held strong.

Sunny was forced to stop when they reached the barrier of Appleoosa. A large wooden gate loomed ahead of them.

Moon, Snowglobe, and Brick stopped by his side and turned to watch Willow. Dusty hovered nearby, looking worried.

Willow undid the strap for her saddlebags and they were hurled from her back to land on the ground a few feet away from the entrance. The mare was now only wearing her hospital barding. The monster bucked again and Willow flopped down onto its head, still clinging to its matted fur.

Sunny wanted to help. But he couldnDo something!Shoot it!Celestia damn it shoot the damn thing!s teeth had done numbers on her. Several large gashes ran the length of her body and her belly had distended on one side.

**Sunny asked. **

**she replied. the mare ran directly at him and tackled him to the ground. The others obeyed her words and got down. **

**Sunny shrugged Willow off. t we be running?**No.s belly. Blood and fur filled the air as the creature popped like a water balloon. There was a loud cheer from the barrier above.

**Sunny said sarcastically. **

**The mare groaned. She spit out six grenade pins, her saliva mixed with blood. she choked. **

**Brick nodded and headed over to her discarded barding. **

**a female voice called from the Appleoosa barrier. **

**Willow muttered, looking blankly at the grenade pins. She reached back and prodded the side of her belly. She gasped and hurriedly pulled her hoof away from the distended section. she breathed. m torn up.**A potion isn** she said worriedly. **

**the female voice called. **

**Sunny looked up to spot the owner of the voice. A turquoise earth pony mare looked down at them. She sported a red headband and was fashioned with a long, dark brown mane and tail. She wore the red cloth around her head, but under her mane so that it was barely visible. It split her mane in the back, half of it running over, half of it running under. **

**she said idly. **

**Dusty cocked his head at her. mean?**That mare got mangled. She turn pretty , no,She

**The pony squinted down at them. **

**Sunny returned her gaze. ve been bitten once and Willow has too. But that was over a month ago.t believe a word he said. ve never heard of a pony being immune.**I

**Snowglobe stepped forward. she asked the turquoise mare. **

**Two other ponies came into view, flanking the mare they had been speaking with. She whispered something to them and they disappeared from sight. the mare replied. **

**Snowglobe flicked her tail. t work too well for buffalo.t look in any better shape. Brick sat next to her. The stallion watched as Willow took a painful breath. **

**The turquoise mare glared down at Snowglobe. **

**Snowglobe dropped the act. she stated. re the leader of this settlement; and if all you have is a varmint rifle then everypony else is probably just as ragtag as you are for weapons. You need protection. You need guns. If you haven She looked triumphantly up at the mare. **

**Sunny watched as the mare on the barrier fought a silent battle with herself. Finally, she turned back. she yelled. t trust them!t very big. A dirt road ran down the middle and two story buildings stretched along its length on both sides. Wagons sat outside some shops, but didns side road. About midway in the road, a pile of what appeared to be bodies burned. Putrid brown smoke rose into the air from the charring pile. **

**Ten ponies flanked their group, five on either side, firearms at the ready. The turquoise mare descended a staircase from the wooden barrier and trotted up to meet them. She addressed them in a formal tone. **

**Sunny looked around skeptically at their assortment of armaments. ****s expression was filled with such condescending criticism that Sunny was surprised fire wasn**Do you really** She paused for effect. She coughed and spat a blood clot into the dirt. **

**The instructing mare looked over Willow, then to the rest of the group. Her jaw lowered a small bit. she stated. The mare didn**Don** Willow reassured on a cheerier note. Her voice still rasped and every breath made her wince. d start shooting the first ponies we **

**The turquoise mare shook her head. d be surprised.**I** she said in a more friendly tone. m in charge of this settlement, more or less.**II understand,Nice to meet ya** Dusty said cheerfully. Sage shot him a nod and smile. Sunny could swear he saw the pegasus blush. **

**t mean to be hostile,**But about this ,Right, about Willow. I just saw her climb out of one of those thing

**Willow asked semi-seriously. s not all mine. My coat **

**Sage ignored her statement. t believe any of this immune nonsense. Ire as good as dead in a day or two, sometimes hours.**Hold your weapons,Look, we told you she

**Sage stood her ground. m not taking any chances.**Stop,For the love of Celestia, lock me in a cage if you have to. Please, just let me wash all the blood off me; and let me bloated like a dead animal.I have too much of a heart to shoot you, so we** She addressed a brown earth pony. m not there by the time she She turned back to Willow. **

**Willow faked a thoughtful expression. ll think about it.**Is she always that intimidating?Most of the all don** she asked as they walked down the main road. **

**They all stated their indifference. **

**Sage reached an old wooden building near the T in the road and held it open for them. The five of them shuffled in. Sage followed them in and closed the door behind her. **

**Sunny looked around the room. It was actually quite nice. The floor was made of brown wooden planks, the same with the ceiling and walls. The only exception was that the walls were painted a sandy yellow. In the very center of the room was a large couch. A quilt covered most of the floor. From here, Sunny could see two doorways to different parts of the house and a staircase leading to the upper levels. **

**Sage cleared her throat loudly. she said cautiously. m going to have to ask all of you to strip off your barding. I need to check you all for bites.s large frame, checking every inch of his body. **

**She approved of Brick and moved onto Snowglobe, then Moon. Sage moved for Dusty next and the pegasus shuffled his hooves awkwardly. Now he was definitely going red. Sage circled around to his back and lifted his sandy brown tail away to view his back legs. Dusty looked around awkwardly, trying not to make eye contact with any of them. Sage moved around to his other side and peeked under his belly. **

**The mare jumped and rather quickly finished the inspection. she declared. She threw a glance as Dusty and both of them flushed. she stated awkwardly. She gave her head a quick shake and moved on to check Sunny. **

**He couldn**What** she asked. **

**Sunny looked at the spot she had mentioned. It was his old bite wound. The flesh was bubbled slightly and held a lighter hue than the surrounding skin. The orange hair had since grown back around the bite, but not as thick as the rest of the hair on his lower leg. **

**There was no excuse to be thought of so he told the truth. s an old bite wound,**Old?I got it about a month and a half ago, back when the initial infection broke out.I told you, I

**The turquoise mare was dumbstruck. ve never seen a pony live long enough for a bite wound to heal before.**Because you havent met any other immune pony either. Except for Willow, but she gained her immunity medically.s eyes lit up like a foals Warming Eve.

**Sunny motioned for Moon to take over. He didns thing. **

**Moon clarified. s an experimental antibiotic, incredibly dangerous. Willow almost killed herself the second time she took it. Also **

**Sunny shook his head vigorously. Moon had almost told Sage about how Willow had bonded with the virus. In their current situation, that probably wouldn**She also what?She also** Moon improvised quickly. **

**Sage asked. **

**Sunny wished the mare would leave them be. She was getting rather prying. he answered. **

**Snowglobe interjected. **

**Sage didn**You** she finally stated. **

**Now it was Sunny**Why

**Sage rolled her eyes. **

**Dusty, who had decided to stop being red, cocked his head. **

**The townspony nodded. re a whole lot more susceptible to this virus thing than unicorns and earth ponies. **

**Dusty looked genuinely surprised. s a bit of a shock, cutie marks. Dustys mark was an adjustable wrench crossed with a blue bolt of electricity. **

**The door behind them opened and a pink unicorn mare poked her head in. she said urgently. The turquoise mare turned her attention to the new arrival. s three fliers coming pretty close to the town. We **

**Sage nodded. ll be there in a minute.**Hope you settle in nicely. I go deal with whatever it is outside then go see your friend Willow. And I urge you to stay inside for now. Itt too ,Don** she shot back. The door closed and the mare was gone. **

**The room fell into an awkward silence. Dusty stared at the spot where Sage had disappeared. he muttered. **

**Snowglobe said cheerfully. s go get set up.**I call the top floor with ? No!Letre both covered with blood and these houses even have running water?Yeah, ah visited here once. All the houses have runnins a water tower somewhere around here. No hot water though."

**she insisted. t reach.t here or he wouldnt bear it any longer. He gave. he groaned. **

**He went away to wash up with a very triumphant looking Moon. **

**Willow scrubbed vigorously at her forelegs, trying to wash out the crimson stains. **

**The stallion had taken her to a bathhouse. Apparently, the houses didnWhy do you think the apple orchard had been her reply. **

**Willow looked down at the section of her distended belly and prodded it gingerly. The swelling had since subsided after she had taken the potion. Little did the others know, she had been purposefully lying on her injured side to hold her ribs aligned while the potion did its work. The last thing she needed right now was for her ribs to heal up all crooked. **

**She never wanted to see another buffalo again. Those things had nasty teeth. **

**Her attention was grabbed by a pony loudly clearing their throat. Willow turned to see Sage observing her. re here,**You can help me scrub my thanks,Suit I was speaking with your friends,I noticed the orange one, Sunny I think his name was. Either way, he stated that both of you were immune. When I checked him, I found an old bite mark on his leg. He said he was bitten the same day as you. So I figured if you were telling the truth

**d have an old one too,**May I check? 

**A little cautiously, sage approached Willow. With tentative hooves, she parted the hair on the white mare**Well tie me to a rock and tell me to swim, you two really are .t really in the mood for talking right now.

**Sage insisted. t those normally remove scars too?**Normally. The virus has effects that counteract any form of magic. Next time if you let ponies in. If one of 'emt conjure any magic, they

**Sage raised her eyebrows. s useful to know.**So** Sage said idly. re fine to go with your friends.**Thanks,t get over that white mare. Something about her made Saget right about Willow.

She suppressed a shudder. When sage had met Willows eyes were blood orange. Sage thought of a way to describe blood orange to herself. The color was like a mix of yellow and crimson. Like blood mixed into a bucket of yellow paint, but only stirred halfway so that wisps of crimson and yellow stood out from the patchy orange-ish mixture.

It was like her eyes had been yellow; but blood ran through them on the surface. Eyes were not supposed to look like that.

Sage reached the end of the street and climbed a staircase to the top of the barrier.

She heaved a long sigh and looked out over the barren desert landscape. The sun hung low in the sky, casting a lengthily shadow from even the smallest bushes.

s it going Sage?Hey Jade,It

**Jade raised an eyebrow at her. t sound like it. What **

**Sage heaved another sigh. Jade was the only pony she could really talk to. m just worried about how this is all going to go. How did I end up being the leader of these ponies?**Honestly, I used to be a caterer back in Canterlot. I

**Jade unfurled a wing and hung it over Sage**Look, Sage,I havent remind me of some wedding planner or waiter. You took control when things were bad. When Braeburn and Silverstar left with their group of followers, you stepped up and took the roll of was the argument.

Sage herself had been one of the protesters. But the two leaders insisted, and so did about half the town. They were out ruled. So both the leaders and about half the town left with most of the weapons and supplies.

After that, the town had been left in complete shambles. That was when she had stepped up and took charge. With nopony else to turn to, the remaining townsfolk took her opinion without protest or thought and she quickly fell into the position of leader.

**Sage replied broodingly. sometimes I just wish I hadn **

**Jade shot her a stern look and spoke determinedly. re the only thing holding them together. You can **

**Sage smiled. she joked. **

**Jade rolled her eyes. **

**Sage frowned. re my best mare.s turn to smile. She trailed off awkwardly at Sage**So what do you think of our new arrivals? ? Is that it?Yeah, odd. For one, the white mare is crazy. The big brown one with the big gun wonre immune to the virus and I actually believe them. The only normal ones are that blue unicorn and the gray one. But I think the gray one is swayed. She wont dare turn my backside to ,One odd those guns they were carrying could prove can take your wing of my back now.s back. **she murmured awkwardly, shuffling her hooves. ve been worrying about,**About the well eventually drying up with this drought. Then what?I donll just have to wait and see."

= As normal, A big thanks To Turtle for helping me work out a few flaws here and there

= A gaint thanks to those forty or so of you that actually read this. I think I write this more for myself than for you ponies. :P

= Oh and, I was curious as to what you all think so far. Name your favorite charecter in the comments please. Trust me, I really do want to know.

= If it makes you feel any better, I have been neglecting Wrong Hospital to take the time to write this.

~Sorren


	9. Chapter 9

"This is recon team six, requesting permission to land," repeated Candy, speaking into the onboard radio. She released the button and turned to Sunny and Willow. "Only thing on board that didn't get a hole shot through it," she muttered. Sunny gazed out the window at the rapidly growing shape of what Candy had called the temporary forward base. It was maybe a quarter of the size of Appleoosa, not counting the apple orchard. A few zombies milled around outside, not paying attention to much. The flight had taken them a little longer than expected, having to stop for two breaks instead of one to compensate for Jade's lack of wingpower and shorter endurance. It was now early evening and the sun hung low on the horizon, casting the proportion of the small camp in long shadows. From what Sunny could tell from here, the base appeared to be constructed of nothing but temporary materials. Large canvas tents dotted the area inside the chain-link fence, sporting flags, and some others, radio antennas. The radio cracked and the voice of a rather official sounding stallion burst from the speakers. "Team six, you are seventeen hours overdue for arrival. Squad leader, please confirm your identity for safety procedures." Candy sighed, turning to them. "Time to play twenty questions." She hit the transmit button on the radio, taking on a surprisingly formal persona. "This is Private Cane." There was a moment of silence while something was most likely worked over on the other end. "One minute team six." "Is that a problem?" Willow asked Candy with a tilt of her head. Candy shook her head. "They're checking the records for the mission; it's all procedure." "Private Cane," the stallion questioned. "Where is your squadron leader?" The mare hung her head, hoof poised over the button. "Sargent Lime is KIA." She exhaled deeply, closing her eyes. "What about the next in command?" Candy swallowed. "KIA." Another brief pause. "Private Cane, there were four soldiers of higher command than you on that flight. Are you telling me that all of your superiors are out of commission?" Candy moaned, pounding her hoof on the floor of the skywagon. She took a deep, shaky breath. "Yes." "…Team six, you are cleared for landing." Dusty turned to the red stallion beside him. "You lead an' ah'll follow whatever you do!" he called. "Ah have no idea how to land one of these things!" The pony nodded. "Just keep in motion with me and I'll bring us down!" his deep voice yelled back. The pullers brought the wagon around the camp once, before lining up with a small dirt strip near the right of the encampment and beginning their descent. Sunny shifted uncomfortably, suddenly becoming very aware of his duel-gunned battle saddle, assuming the REA might not be too keen of him having it. The wagon passed low over the chain-link fence, allowing Sunny a better view of the encampment. He had been right, there were no permanent buildings, only gray and green canvas tents placed in close proximity to one another. Numerous skywagons were parked in a dirt clearing within the fence. A large generator also sat near the front gate, producing power for both the encampment, and judging from the wires running in the other direction, the electrified fence. Gray-suited ponies trotted to on fro, each one appeared to have something of incredible importance to achieve, apart from a single group of ponies sitting around an outdoor table. Overall, Sunny figured the landing went pretty well, apart from Dusty dropping the front end too fast and bending the frame of the damaged wagon further still. Before they even had a chance to leave the wagon, let alone fully stop, a bulky orange earth pony emerged from one of the larger tents. He set towards them at a swift trot, head held high and limbs so stiff they resembled willow branches. As he neared, Sunny watched a scowl grow across the pony's face and his eyebrows appeared to be trying to grow into his mane. Candy gulped and made her way out of the wagon, giving her mane a small shake. Sunny cast a look to Willow. "I think we should get off too." Nodding, Willow rose to her hooves and started forward; he followed her lead, figuring Candy needed their support. Dusty and Jade pulled themselves out of their harnesses to fall in beside Sunny and Willow as they took quiet stance behind Candy, who appeared to be awaiting the arrival of the orange pony. Casting a nervous look around, Sunny wanted to lower himself to the ground under the prying gaze of so many uniformed ponies watching them. In moments, thirty or so ponies had emerged from different tents, and the ponies at the table had decided to join the circle of surrounding the skywagon as well. Candy stood up tall as the pony Sunny took to be the base commander neared. The orange stallion glared condescendingly down at her. "Private, what is this?" His voice was heated with impatience and annoyance, as if he had previously been doing something important. Candy met his piercing gaze. "What is what sir?" He growled low in his throat. "Don't play that innocent crap with me. Why do you return to base overdue, and missing your entire team? And with four civilians!?" Candy was quiet for a moment. "May I explain sir?" He grunted once. "Not out here." He motioned towards a gray canvas tent with his tail. "This way." He started forward, only to stop a moment later to look back. "All of you, fliers included." "Cheerful one," Sunny muttered as they followed sergeant across the camp. "Tell me about it," Willow added. "He wasn't in charge of base when I left," Candy whispered urgently. "He was the successor; something must have happened." Two ponies standing guard outside one of the larger tents parted the flaps as they neared, allowing them through and letting the flaps fall again after the eight ponies had entered. Four more soldiers stood inside the tent, one in either corner. Sunny wondered how they could stand like statues all day, he could never bear holding still for that long. The commander motioned to his four ponies in the room, bringing them to life it seemed. "I want them disarmed, now," he commanded, pointing towards Sunny's group. Sunny looked around frantically, suddenly becoming very aware of his battle saddle. "Wait, what?" The commander made a choking noise in his throat that could have been a laugh. "What? Do you think you can just strut around a military facility toting guns about? Two of the uniformed ponies approached Sunny first, most likely taking him as the biggest threat, and set to the task of removing his battle saddle. "You ever seen a saddle like this?" he heard one murmur. "Once," the other replied, this one a mare. "This thing's old. They were standard REA issue back when guns were still new." Sunny cast a glance to Dusty, who appeared to be fidgeting with something. He undid the strap holding the holster for Valediction do his leg. Hurriedly, he turned his head back and tucked the weapon into his mane, successfully managing to hide it. Sunny looked around, glad none of the guards had noticed. He felt the weight of the saddle lifted from his back and turned to see one of the uniformed ponies carrying it to one corner of the room. The other moved on to Willow, removing her automatic pistol, much to the white mare's protest. The commander motioned towards Candy. "Hers too." Candy's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" He shot her a warning look. "You went AWOL private." She gaped at him. "My skywagon crashed!" "And then you returned with four civilians and no evidence of your squadron but a bloody skywagon!" "I never abandoned anypony!" The commander raised a hoof for her silence and turned to glare at Dusty. "Didn't you have a weapon on you?" The pegasus shook his head respectfully. "No sir," he said evenly. The commander narrowed his eyes. "I'm watching you." He turned slowly, sweeping the seven disarmed ponies in front of him with a condescending glare, finally coming to rest on Candy. "Well, you wanted to explain. Now do it!" She took a step forward, face red from anger, though when she spoke, her voice remained even. "During the Desert Sage mission, Private Dodge was somehow infected. He turned in the wagon. He went to bite our medic and he bit down on the trigger for his saddle… He was our big guns. Everypony died but me and the two fliers here with us." "So why are you still alive?" he asked slowly. "Because sir, I ducked." "You ducked," he said mockingly. "Yes sir, I did—" "Hold it!" he interrupted. "If they were all shot on the wagon, then where are the bodies?" Candy gulped. "I… I-I discarded them sir." The commander didn't have to speak, his eyes said it all. "I told her to," the red pegasus with the dark golden brown mane added quickly. "We would have all died had she not pushed the dead out of the wagon; there was too much weight. She had to, and I told her to do it." The commander held a dangerously cool face. "Continue your story, Private." She blinked, most likely surprised as the lack of reprimand. "T-two of our fliers and a spark battery were hit. We had to make an emergency landing in the surviving settlement of Appleoosa." "It's true," the red pegasus put in. "One moment we're flying, the next, bullets are shooting everywhere and the two ponies beside me took the heat." Candy continued her story. "In Appleoosa I found two fliers willing to aid me in returning to base." Candy threw a glance at Willow. "And possibly a cure." The commander blinked. "A cure?" He didn't sound convinced. "Really?" Willow stepped forward. "Yes. I can prove it with my own immunity." She made a motion towards Sunny. "He has some sort of natural immunity that I don't know how to analyze." "So you expect me to just believe you?" he asked. The commanded was treating this whole thing as If it were some big joke. "Yes sir. I expect you to believe me. I have no reason to lie." "And why should I?" Something flashed in Willow's blood-orange eyes. "You'll listen to me if you have any sense," she said heatedly. The stallion blinked again, and smiled. "You should really watch your tone," he said dangerously. Willow opened her mouth for a hot retort, but Sunny frantically shook his head at her. She stopped and took a deep breath. "What do you propose? I have means of it in my possession." The commander brought his hoof to his chin, mocking deep thought. "And I suppose you want me to go out of my way for this?" "Look," Willow snapped. "I came here share a possible antidote and maybe even help with a cure, not to get into a pissing contest with a cynical base commander that walks like he's got a stick shoved up under his tail. But if you start a pissing contest I'll play, and I'll win." "Willow!" sunny hissed. "I thought I told you not to!" The commander stepped forward, a certain gleam in his eyes. "Since the infection," he started, almost casually. "The REA has gone quite lax on procedure. The former commander, as of yesterday, maintained procedure very well. As you know, the commander's word is law. There isn't enough organization on the REA's part to do it any other way." He paused. "Now I am going to investigate a bit further into your claims of a cure. I will have you and the pegasus sent to Baltimare for testing." "Now we're getting somewhere," Willow mumbled. "Now as put into effect yesterday, civilians are no longer permitted entry to the base or view of its inner workings. We would hate for it to get out how this branch of the REA treats civilians. " He rallied his guards with a circular glance. "Take them to the edge of the compound," he ordered. "Dispose of them, the pullers too; after this, they'll run the minute they can." The unruly pony turned to Candy. "I'll speak with you later; we have some… business to talk before you are dismissed. The seven of them all exchanged horrified glances, all coming to the realization of what had just been ordered. Willow began to spurt a chain of profanities at the commander before a rifle lined up with her head, thoroughly quelling her verbal assault. Candy stepped out of the line, ignoring the rifles that followed her from the four armed guards. As she approached the commander, every muscle in her body trembled. The stallion looked at her with mild amusement on her face. She turned to look back at the rest of them. "Run," she said flatly. Sunny squinted. "What?" Candy flung herself sideways and tackled the nearest guard to the ground, taking them all by surprise. "I said run!" Not bothering to question, the red and purple pegasi bolted for the exit. The commander drew I pistol and took aim at Candy. He fired, but missed, instead, striking the pony Candy was wrestling with. The other three guards readied their battle saddles. Sunny ducked as one took aim at him and Jade sprung into the air. She flew directly at the canvas ceiling in the tent, tearing a hole in it and disappearing into the evening air. "Sorry!" she yelled back at them from out of sight. "I'm not dying here!" "Go!" Candy bellowed as another stallion hopped on her to replace the one who had been shot. "I'm not leaving you!" Willow bellowed, diving into the fray. The commander stepped back and aimed at Willow, who had diverted the attention from Candy and was battling a stallion and a mare up close, always keeping herself away from their gun barrels. He held his fire, probably not wanting to hit another of his own, but continued to try and fine an opportunity to shoot. Dusty drew Valediction as two more uniformed ponies charged into the tent through the front entrance. He fired and the air was filled with a loud crack as the rifle on the left pony's back split. Apparently, Dusty was taking the non-lethal approach. Willow bit down on the barrel of a blue unicorn's rifle and bent it sixty degrees. The pony reared up and delivered a heavy kick to Willow's face that sent the mare sprawling. The commander took aim. Sunny charged at him, driving his head into the bulky pony's flank. His shot missed, instead, pitting the ground a few feet away. The commander, having been so focused on Willow, lost his balance and flopped over onto his side. While the stallion was stunned, Sunny turned to Dusty, who had succeeded in disarming another soldier. "Go!" he yelled. "You can fly out of here!" "Ah'm not leavin'!" Dusty shouted back. Sunny ran up to the pegasus and shouldered him forward. "Go! We aren't getting out; you can still make it!" He could hear shouts and yells outside. Any minute now the whole camp would come pouring into the tent. "We're immune! They aren't going to kill us, but they'll kill you! Now go!" Dusty nodded once, the motion seeming to hurt him. "Stay strong," he said glumly. Unfurling his wings, the pegasus sprang into the air and disappeared through the hole left by Jade. Just then, the tent flap burst open and five more soldiers rushed in with battle saddles at the ready. Willow left Candy's aid and charged them. The ponies dodged as the raging mare flew at them, instead spreading out in a circle. Willow flung herself on one and stomped the unfortunate pink mare to the ground. She turned on the others and took stance, low to the ground and poised to spring. Blood ran from multiple cuts on her heaving flanks, and one from her cheek. "Who wants some," she challenged, putting on a maniacal smile. A bullet pierced her side with a meaty thwack. Blood sprayed the ground near her belly and she staggered to the side. She turned to commander, who held a smoking pistol in his mouth! "Ouch!" she bellowed. "That bucking hurt you two-bit rent-a-cop!" She staggered around in a circle, shouting profanities. One hoof caught on the other and Willow tripped, flopping over onto her side. "Willow!" Sunny called, running over to his friend. The mare Candy had been wrestling with released her grasp and the two picked themselves up, their fight totally forgotten. The commander returned his pistol to its holster and surveyed the scene, then turned his gaze to the orange pegasus at the injured mare's side. "Oh how nice," he said flatly. He turned to the soldiers in the room that were still standing, which was about seven; four more were unconscious and one probably dead, killed by the commander himself. "Lock them up," he ordered. "Put Private Cane in with them. That mare has performed mutiny. We fly them to Baltimare in the morning." * * * Moon trotted between two apple trees, two baskets of apples slung over her back and a shotgun underneath that. She emptied the load of apples into the nearby wagon and proceeded to the pump to fill the basket with water to haul back to the trees. She honestly could not understand how Appleoosans did this most of the day. She was only on her third run and already bored out of her wits. It was all too repetitive; bucket of apples, bucket of water, bucket of apples, bucket of water. She reached the line for the water pump, which seemed to be steadily growing longer, and took a place at the back, waiting. Ponies stood in the rapidly growing line, waiting for their turn at the pump and talking about whatever could pass as mildly interesting. It was the day after Sunny and Willow had left, and her first day in the orchard; if she would be staying here, then it would be best to get into the habit of helping out. A green maned, yellow earth pony caught her eye; he was looking right at her. She continued to look ahead, pretending she hadn't noticed. After a moment, the young stallion trotted over to stand beside her in line, doing his best to act nonchalant, but failing terribly—she expected him to start whistling any second now. She spotted a group of stallions some distance away, the four them looking at her and presumably their friend expectantly. 'go on,' one mouthed to the stallion beside Moon. Moon allowed herself a knowing smile. The yellow stallion's friends were trying to goad him into talking to her, and judging by their overeager expressions, maybe a little something more. "So um, hi," the yellow earth pony said skeptically. "I'm Stacks." Moon closed her eyes and rolled them beneath her eyelids. She was bored enough to eat her own hooves; what would it hurt to see much she could mess with these ponies. She had done it quite a bit before the infection; hopefully she hadn't gotten rusty. "Well that's an… interesting name," she returned. Moon heard a low snicker from the pony's friends and felt a sudden wave of sympathy for the yellow stallion. "Yeah," he added. "I used to stack boxes and pallets before the zombies… it stuck." Moon put on her best serious face. "Before the infection, I used to shoot ponies." Just because she felt a little sorry for him because of his teasing friends didn't mean she still wouldn't have a little fun. Stacks opened his mouth to say something but stopped. He tilted his head at Moon, a look of confusion on his face. He overcame the minor shock and shook his head. "Okay, that's… cool. Well, I just saw you standing here all alone… and I figured—" "No," Moon interupted. "Wait… what?" Stacks asked, going red. She sighed. "The only reason you're over here is because your friends are trying to get you to hook up with me so they stick things inside me." Stacks tried to stammer something, but Moon continued. "You know, and I know, that most mares wouldn't throw a second glance at you or your friends, and not to gloat here, but I think I can say I look a little better than most mares." The stallion's jaw trembled as he tried to think of something to say. His yellow face had gone as red as the apples in the trees. Moon was thoroughly enjoying herself, but she did feel a little bad for him. His friends were going to give him quite a hard time after what she had just done. She could tell by the way they laughed; they were that other crowd that seemed to think swearing and breaking things was cool, unlike the stallion by her now. He didn't really seem to fit with them. "Tell you what," she said after a moment. "I can tell you really need to impress those friends of yours, or you'll never hear the end of it." Stacks asked her to continue with a look, still trying to force down the red in his face. "Because I feel sorry for you, here's what I'm going to do." She stepped closer and draped her tail over his back. Leaning close, she whispered in his ear. "You can go tell your friends whatever you think they wanted to hear, and if they ask me, I'll back it up. Now I'm going to walk away and act all seductive, and you can tell them what you want from there." She pulled away and headed for the trees, purposefully swaying her hips. She turned and looked directly at Stacks' three friends and smiled. Moon dropped the act when she was sure she was far enough away that they couldn't see or hear her. She dropped to the ground below an apple tree. Rolling onto her back, she kicked her hooves in the air, laughing hysterically. She hadn't ever done something that crazy. "That was awesome," she gasped. Before the infection, she never would have even thought about doing something like that. She had always been trying to make some sort of a reputation. Moon attempted to scold herself for what she had done. "That was a bad thing to do," she said condescendingly. "You could give the townsponies the wrong idea." She ignored her better self. That was fun! She lay on her back, hooves curled up to her belly, staring up at a plump red apple. "What's so funny?" a familiar voice asked. Moon looked up to see Snowglobe standing in front of her, looking down with a curious expression. Hurriedly, she rolled over onto her side. "Not much, just messing with stallions." Snowglobe raised an eyebrow at her. "Not like that," she added. The gray mare's horn glowed as she picked the apple Moon had been staring at and sat down beside her. Levitating the apple to her mouth, she took a bite and looked over at Moon. "I'm worried…" Taking another bite of apple, she continued to look at Moon. "Worried about what" Snowglobe began without hesitation, as if she had just been waiting to confide in somepony. "I think we may be in trouble with the water." "Go on," Moon prodded. Snowglobe now had her full attention. The mare usually knew what she was talking about, so chances were she had a good point here. Snowglobe sighed. "The water from the well has a lot of sediments in it—flakes of calcium and a bunch of other little things like that. Being the certified maintenance pony that I am, I know this means that the pumps are drawing water near the bottom of the reserve. That means that we're almost out of water and the pumps are pulling what's left off the bedrock." Moon's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" Snowglobe folded her ears. "Would I be telling you this if I wasn't sure?" Moon jumped to her hooves. "Well we have to tell Sage about this right now!" She made to leave but Snowglobe stopped her with an outstretched forehoof. "I don't want to frenzy anypony. It'll be like the hospital all over again if this gets out." Moon nodded briefly. "Okay, we'll keep it quiet, but we still have to tell Sage. She's their leader; if anypony needs to know, it's her." "I thought this place was safe," Snowglobe sniffed. "We're going to have to leave. We're going to run out of water here. Sage said there was a huge well under Appleoosa, either she was wrong or all this hot weather dried it up. When the water runs out…" Moon placed a hoof on the fretting mare's back. "Hey now," she comforted. "We don't know yet if the water's really almost gone." Snowglobe seemed to take the gesture as an invitation to touch and rested her muzzle against Moon's flank. "Really, how long do you think any well is going to last in conditions as dry as these?" Moon pulled away from the mare. "A-heh… Not very long…" She cleared her throat, hating the silence and trying to ignore Snowglobe's worried face. "Come on, we still need to tell Sage." Together the two mares left the orchard and made their way back to the town, not much of a walk considering the two weren't too far apart. A ten foot path had been fenced in to allow safe passage from zombies between the orchard and the town. Soon they were back on the street through the center of town. Moon spotted the pony she was looking for atop the barricade, near the gate. The turquoise mare was speaking with one of the guards. As of today, two pistols were strapped to both forelegs, courtesy of Willow's stash. "Well it's a problem," Sage said angrily to the pink guard as Moon and Snowglobe approached. "What are we going to do if there's even more of them?" Moon squinted at the two ponies as she climbed the staircase to the walkway above. "More of what?" Sage turned to them as if startled. "Oh it's you… We have a problem." She pointed a hoof out to the desert. "Try not to alarm anypony yet—I want to try and figure out how to address this." "What's the big…?" She froze. "…deal… That's a lot of zombies." In the distance, were hundreds of little rainbow specs. "Celestia, they found us." There were too many to count, all lined up on the horizon. "We, don't have enough ammo to shoot them all," the guard mare said worriedly. Snowglobe gulped. "Are you suggesting we let them pile up? Would the wall even hold them back?" Sage stomped her hoof on the wooden walk for effect, and was rewarded with a thonk. "Of course it will. I just don't like the idea of those things right behind the wall." Moon stepped forward, watching repulsively as the colorful mass slowly neared. "Well, I don't think we have much choice." "I'm going to have to tell her, aren't I?" Snowglobe groaned. Sage frowned. "Tell me what?" Snowglobe sighed. "There's sediment in the water." "And?" "…That means the water in the well is so low that the pumps are pulling some of the sediment from the bedrock." Sage glared as if Snowglobe had just insulted her. "How do you know?" Snowglobe stood proudly. "I'm a fully certified maintenance technician. I've dealt with enough wells to know a dry one when I see it. I spent almost a year with a groundwater drilling company near Dodge." The turquoise mare swallowed, turning first to the zombie ponies, then back to Snowglobe. She did this three more times. "No," she stated apathetically. "This can't be happening. . . We-we should have gone with Braeburn and Silverstar." She flopped back on her haunches. "I screwed us." A choked laugh escaped her vocals. "I totally screwed us all!" "You can't say that," the pink mare replied. "You have no idea what could have happened to the others when they left. They're probably dead. Have you heard any news from them?" Moon just balked at Sage. "Why are you talking like we're going to die? What's wrong with you?" Sage, at the moment, did not appear able to produce any form of intelligent speech. The pink guard mare backed away slowly. "Yeah… I'm just going to leave you three to it." Hurriedly, she made herself disappear. Sage let out a strangled laugh. Reaching up, she pulled the strip of red cloth from around her head. Moon gasped. Sage looked like a totally different pony. The image of Appleoosa's leader vanished before her eyes to be replaced by a sad, lost mare. Her brown hair hung into her eyes and around her face where it had not before. What now sat in front of Moon was a tired and defeated mare. "I'm done," she choked, fighting back tears. "I can't handle this anymore… I'm not cut out to run a whole settlement. Look, I screwed up; now we're all in trouble because I wouldn't leave." "Come on," Moon said in an attempt at comfort. She cast a pleading look to Snowglobe, who only shrugged. "Well thanks," she hissed, focusing back on Sage. "It doesn't matter if we're almost out of water and we can't leave because hundreds of zombies are starting to surround the town. "We'll do something." Snowglobe drew a hiss of breath between her teeth. "Well, when you put it that way it sounds really bad. "You aren't helping!" Moon snapped at her. She sat back and raised her hooves. "Hey, sorry." A passing townspony slowed to a halt, balking at Sage in the mess she was in. Moon hurriedly herded Sage down from the barricade and behind a wagon, out of the sight of prying eyes. Last thing any of them needed was for the rumor that their leader was losing it passing about—it would be chaos. If there was one thing Moon had learned from the first day of the infection, it was that normal ponies turned into crazies in a state of crisis without any form of organization. Without some sort of leader, ponies crumbled and started to listen to whoever could yell the loudest, and that was usually the dumbest of them all. "I can't," Sage whispered. "Somepony else has to help me. Jade was the only pony I could talk to and she left with the others." She sniffed. "I'm not responsible enough to hold the lives of so many ponies in my hooves." "Man," Snowglobe whispered in Moon's ear. "Look at her—she's not doing so good." Moon looked at Sage, who was now examining a pebble, completely oblivious of her surroundings. "No!" she stated, not sure of the meaning or where she was going. "No!" She grabbed Sage's headband and slung it back over her head. "You have to hold together." Sage looked up unseeingly, her headband covering her eyes. "I've been trying… but what am I supposed to do now? We're surrounded, with hardly any weapons, and almost no water. Food too, considering the water is the only thing keeping the trees alive." Moon had to agree that they weren't in the best shape. "Just try and hang in there." Reaching out, she adjusted Sage's headband so as it no longer covered her eyes. "Flyers incoming!" Moon jumped at the call from a pony on guard. "Four of them!" Sage scrunched her brow. "Four? One's uncommon enough." Moon bolted out from behind the wagon and up the stairs to brown stallion who had given the warning. "A skywagon crew?" she asked hopefully. He shook his head, pointing out at the sky. "Just four pegasi. No skywagon." Snowglobe came up on her left. "Think they're zombies?" Moon peered closer. She couldn't make out anything but the silhouettes of the four pegasi; the late afternoon sun shone nearly behind them, making it impossible to look directly at the ponies. "No," replied Sage, her voice once again firm, appearing to have regained her composure. "They're flying to straight to be zombies. Zombies fly like they only have one wing." "Think it's the skywagon group?" Snowglobe mused. Moon nodded. "I think so… but where's the skywagon?" "Sunny and Willow too," Snowglobe added. The four of them watched quietly as the pegasi neared, not knowing what to expect. Moon picked out Dusty and Jade right away as they neared; they were with the other two pegasi who had flown in. Dusty fixed his gaze on her as they moved in to land, signifying that he spotted them. The four pegasi landed a little to the right. Jade panted heavily, letting her tongue loll out of her mouth. Moon shot a worried smile to Dusty while Jade trotted up to meet Sage. Dusty on the other hoof, did not smile. He walked slowly up to Moon and Snowglobe, holding a gloomy expression. "What happened?" she asked, mind clouding with worry. "The REA aren't the ponies we thought they were." He made to walk away, but Moon moved to block his path. "What's that supposed to mean?" Dusty looked over at her, his eyes meeting hers levelly. They exchanged unspoken words that seemed to say most of what she was worrying. This was the first time Moon had actually seen Dusty mad. She had seen him flustered, or annoyed plenty of times, but right now, something different shone in his eyes, making the normally cheery pegasus almost unrecognizable. "The REA is holding Sunny and Willow captive. They're goin' to haul them off to Baltimare for testing." Moon felt like she was going to pass out. Her vision blurred as a wave of panic and adrenaline surged through her body. "W-what?" Dusty took an inpatient breath. "They're gone; in the morning they're going to be hundreds of miles away. The REA's all screwed up. They tried to kill us." Moon looked around frantically, noting the worried expression on Snowglobe's face. "We have to do something!" "Damn it Moon!" Dusty snapped, stomping his hoof on the wooden planks. "It's the Celestia damned REA! What, you think we can just go stroll in the place and go ask nicely for them to give us our friends back!?" He exhaled a shaky breath, turning away from her. "Unless they manage to bust themselves out, they aren't goin' anywhere but up north." * * * Sunny glanced around the dark cage for what he guessed was the hundredth time. They had been hauled to a tent near the back of the camp. Since there weren't any buildings here, animal cages served as cells. As the commander had put it, they were in captivity until they could be taken to Baltimare in the morning. He tapped his hoof absently, receiving a light, metallic clack. Above him, there was a metal roof, below him, there was a metal floor, and steel bars held them both apart. "Do you think she's going to be okay?" Candy asked worriedly. Sunny looked slowly over to the mare, only able to make out her silhouette in the dull moonlight shining through the open tent flap. "I don't know," he said flatly. "Look, I'm sorry," she apologized for the tenth time. "I had no idea you would be treated that way. The REA isn't like this. He's in the wrong." He scoffed. "Well, I guess things change." Sunny turned his attention to Willow. The injured mare lay splayed on her side against the bars of the cage, her flanks rising and falling slowly. Sunny had examined the wound, and although he didn't know much about anatomy, he certainly knew it was bad. She had been shot diagonally from behind, a little ahead of her hind legs and right in the middle of her side. Blood had since caked her coat around the wound, and shone black in the moonlight. There had been an entry wound, but no exit, which signified that she still had a bullet buried somewhere inside her. Reaching over, he brushed a lock of her crimson mane away from her face. "Hang in there," he said quietly. Willow opened her eyes, casting the faintest orange-yellow glow across the cage floor. "Come on," she said, shooting him a smile and trying to sound optimistic, but failing. "It's not that bad." Sunny gave his head a shake. He couldn't get over the fact that her eyes actually glowed. They actually gave off light; it was very faint, but it was light, actual light. He shot a look to Candy, who had retreated to the opposite corner, before returning his gaze back to Willow. "You can't even move Willow." She rolled her luminescent eyes. "I could move." She coughed once. "I'm not moving because I don't want to re-open the wound. The only reason it's stopped bleeding is because all the blood has clotted. It'll break them all open again if I move." She shifted her weight with a sharp gasp. "And I'm pretty sure there's a bullet lodged in my intestinal track; my bowels are telling me something isn't quite right." Sunny sighed, resting his hoof on Willow's neck. "You're lucky." He paused, examining her wound. "Sort of. Any further forward and it would have been your stomach, or your heart, or a lung." Willow blinked her eyes in acknowledgement, unable to nod. "All of which would have killed me." They sat in silence for a while, the only sound that of their breathing in the small space and the occasional zap of a zombie hitting the fence outside. Sunny hung his head, eyes tracking the ground. This wasn't fair. What had they done to deserve any of this? They had come to the REA camp of their own accord, and presented them with a possible antidote. So what do they do? Try to kill his friends and then lock them in an animal cage. A sudden burst of anger shot through him. Without warning, he reared up and slammed his forehooves against the bars, rattling the cage. "Somepony give her a damned healing potion!" he bellowed into the night air. "She is going to die! Don't you care you useless piles of scum!?"He struck the bars again, once again shattering the quiet night air. "Calm it Sunny," Willow said as she exhaled. "You're just going to make them shoot you." "Good!" he snapped back at her. "I hope they shoot me, and that damned idiot in the corner!" He pointed an accusing hoof at Candy. "Shut up!" a tired voice yelled somewhere out in the camp. Candy had pressed herself so forcefully up against the steel bars in the corner that they furrowed her coat. Willow raised her head to look at Sunny, the movement procuring a slight grimace. "Sunny," she said levelly, soothingly. "This isn't you; you aren't the angry pony I see right now. If there's anypony that should be yelling and hitting things, it's me. Just... sit down, and let what whatever happens, happen." Willow's calm presentation seemed to calm Sunny, and he allowed himself a few deep breaths. "They can't do this," he added feebly, previous vigor gone. He turned desperately to Candy. "Can't you talk to them or something?" She only glared. "What do you think? I attacked fellow REA members and allowed the escape of three prisoners." Sunny scoffed. "They weren't prisoners; he was going to kill them." Candy stomped a hoof. "You're missing the point. I disobeyed a direct order and betrayed the commanding officer. I have officially thrown my ticket into the 'Mutiny' helmet. I'm surprised they didn't kill me right there and then." He sighed, lowering his head back to the floor. "I'm sorry. All this is just, so... I don't like small spaces either." Candy returned the sigh. "Things have changed. The REA is supposed to help ponies. It... it almost feels like they've given up, and just broken off into a band of rogues... It can't be this bad anywhere else. Watch, we're going to get to Baltimare and they're going to let you two go and—" The room darkened as a pony's silhouette filled the entryway, blocking out the grey moonlight. Sunny turned angrily, expecting another gloating REA member. "What do you want?" he asked venomously. Sunny didn't understand why he was so enraged. This was abnormal for him. Normally, he was calm, and usually didn't get mad very easily. Right now, he just wanted to find something and stomp it into the ground. Suddenly, the moonlight was drown out as a pony pushed their way into the tent, creeping low to the ground. "What do you want?" Sunny asked the dark shape heatedly. "Shhhhh," was the shaded pony's reply as she slunk into the tent. "Come to gloat?" Sunny growled. The pony crept up to the cage and her features were drawn up in the moonlight. She was a unicorn, yellow with a white-blue mane. The room suddenly shone a light-blue as her horn flared to life. "No," the new arrival whispered. Willow lifted her head halfway up from the ground. "Why are you here?" she asked with caution. The yellow unicorn's eyes went wide at the sight of Willow. "I want you to know that I don't approve of this. Some of the officers have gone sour. If I could do anything to stop them, I would." She threw a look around, then opened a flap on her saddlebags and levitated out a deep purple potion. "Your friend needs this," she said, passing it through the bars. Willow's already glowing eyes lit up as they tracked the path of the glass vial, then she turned her head disbelievingly towards the mare. The unicorn took a startled step backwards "Celestia..."she balked. "Your eyes... they glow like a zombie's." "Correction," Willow said painfully. "Zombie's eyes glow yellow." The yellow mare shook her head disbelievingly, then took a step away from the cage. "I wish I could help, but the only thing I can do is wish you luck. So..." She turned to leave. "Good luck." "Wait," Willow said hurriedly, turning the yellow mare back resiliently. "Yes?" the mare asked skeptically. "You need to bring me a pair of tweezers, pliers, anything to get this bullet out of me. I can't just guzzle a healing potion and leave it inside. The mare swallowed. "E-Excuse me?" Willow rolled hr luminescent eyes. "The wound won't heal right if there's a bullet in me. It'll work its way further into my body if I just seal the wound, then I'll just be screwed later." The yellow mare opened her mouth to speak, but only closed it a moment later. "Don't you need anesthetic?" she asked evasively. Another roll of the eyes. "I'd like anesthetic, but those pricks took all of my medical supplies." The yellow mare turned and left without another word, leaving them in silence as the tent flap swished shut. Sunny didn't think she would come back. He lay back down with a sigh and watched as Willow studied the healing potion skeptically. Much to his surprise, the mare did return, a pair of long, thin tweezers levitating by her side. "Will this work?" she asked quietly, levitating the tweezers through the bars and holding them in front of Willow. "Yeah," the injured mare whispered back as the Tweezers dropped to the floor beside her. "Thank you." The mare nodded once, then turned and left. Throughout the whole ordeal, Candy hadn't said a word, or made a sound. She sat in the far corner of the cage, pressed up against the cold steel bars, Wallowing in what Sunny could only assume was pitty. Willow looked to her wound, then to the tweezers. She sighed for what seemed like the tenth time that night. "I'm going to need your help Sunny." His head shot up. "What?" "You're going to have to get the bullet out." He shook his head vigorously. "No. No, i can't do that." Willow flicked her tail irritably. "Sunny," she said crossly. "I can't jab a pair of tweezers into my flank and go digging for lead; I'll be too busy trying not scream. Please, I need your help." Regretfully, Sunny nodded. "Alright... Is there way way I should do it? Or..." She shook her head. "Just stick it in and dig until you find something little and hard. I haven't been eating any rocks or anything, so there should only be one hard thing lodged in my intestines." He gulped. "Well... that's nice." Willow grinned up at him. "I hope you aren't squeamish." "No," Sunny replied flatly. "I'm just not very keen to go digging inside my friend with a pair of tweezers." She smiled. "Remember that old game, Operation?" He nodded, eyeing to tweezers. "Good," Willow levitated the tweezers over to Sunny. "Just pretend you're trying to get the butterfly." The yellow mare winced as a strangled scream echoed throughout the camp. "Should have gotten her some pain killers," she muttered. * * * "Celestia... it's gotten worse," Moon said under her breath. She strode beside Dusty as they circled the town atop the barrier. It was the day after Dusty and Jade had arrived with the bad news. Since then, nothing had changed but the number of zombies gnawing at the wall. "When did they all start showin' up?" Dusty asked. Moon rolled her eyes up. "I'd say about an hour before you did." The pegasus shook his head slowly. "Ah don't get it. Somehow, they like, found the town or somethin'... Willow would know. She was the zombie expert." Moon felt her heart drop as she was reminded of her two missing companions, Sunny more than Willow. She missed the pegasus, missed him more than she could bear. Just thinking about it stuck her breath in her chest and filled her belly with a sinking feeling. Dusty flicked his tail and turned to Moon. "You have any idea why Sage is using us as her personal consultants now?" Moon sighed. "Sage isn't doing so well. I guess she's just looking for help. She was never fit to run a settlement. She may look strong, but she takes that headband off and she's a totally different pony." She looked down at a throng of zombies pressed against the barrier like sardines in a can. It seemed strange, but, sometime after the hospital, zombies had stopped being scary. Sure they could still eat you and you would die, but she had her shotgun and they were too stupid to hide. Looking down at them from the barrier like this had the same effect at looking down at a caged, ferocious beast. No matter how scary it is, it just isn't scary. Dusty stopped and perked his ears. "Ah hear ponies yellin'." Moon stopped as well, tilting her head to one side to listen with her left ear. She could definitely hear ponies yelling... lots of ponies yelling. "Sounds like some sort of commotion in town." Dusty blinked slowly. "I reckon we should go check it out then." With practiced ease, Dusty sprang from the barrier and unfurled his wings to glide down to ground level. He landed smoothly and flapped his wings a single time for balance before re-furling them. "Oh, sure." Moon rolled her eyes as the pegasus smiled cheekily up a her. "Leave the mare to take the stairs. With a not-so-irritated huff, she trotted the extra ten feet to the rickety staircase and descended there. The two cut between two buildings and emerged on the main street, where a throng of ponies had gathered in a semicircle. "Jeez," Dusty said as they neared the clamorous group. "It looks like the whole town is out here." Moon looked over the group of ponies with raised eyebrows. "I think the whole town is here." "There you are!" a recognizable voice called. Snowglobe trotted up and took stance on Moon's right. "I've been wondering were you two have been," she stated. "I still can't find Brick. I haven't seen him since word got out that Willow and Sunny were gone." Moon flinched. Another jab in the heart. "What's going on here?" she asked Snowglobe. "The townsponies are catching on," the gray mare replied in a hushed tone. "What with the sudden water conservation and all the zombies outside. They're starting to get antsy." Snowglobe shrugged. "Okay." "Okay...? As in, no breakdowns?" she pressed. "Not so far." Moon nodded with relief. "Good. Let's hope it stays that way." Sage stood atop a flat-decked wagon, which had been surrounded by ponies. "What's with this new water stuff!?" one yelled in a squeak. "What're we gun' do 'bout the zombies!?" another hollered. Moon watched from the back of the group as Sage began to crumble under the barrage of questions and acquisitions. "Doing okay," she said in a mock of Snowglobe's voice, procuring a look from the gray mare. Suddenly, Sage's face turned hard and she stomped her hoof. "You want it straight?" she said in exasperation. "I'll tell it to you straight... We're running out of water, and as all of you know, there are zombies surrounding us. Put one and two together and you have one majorly screwed town. A shocked silence fell over the crowd. "So... what do we do then?" squeaked a mare near the front. Sage lowered her head. "I don't know. That's what I was trying to figure out." She looked up, looking as Moon had seen her earlier. "I have no idea what to do. Anypony have a plan that will un-screw us?" "Well," a red stallion asked. "Can we shoot them? maybe—" "Not enough ammo," Sage interrupted. Silence Sage stood tall. "I'm tired of making all the decisions. You ponies are going to have to help me out here." She stood quietly, saying no more, watching with absolutely no interest as ponies began to mutter and argue. Before Moon could even contemplate what was happening, she was was standing in the middle of a full-fledged screaming contest. A few ponies shrank away from the arguing mass, taking the sensible side and not joining in on the chaos. Moon balked. "It's Desert Sage all over again!" One burly stallion sporting a cowpony hat threw a hoof at another chewing on a cattail and the real chaos began. Moon and Snowglobe dodged out of the way as two mares rolled by, biting and kicking at one another. Dusty jumped into the air and hovered above, out of reach. Sage stood blankly on top of the wagon, staring off into space as the brawl raged on. A couple of doors cracked along the length of the street, anxious foals or mothers peeking out to see the commotion. Moon stared ahead, her mind bringing her back to that day in Desert Sage which seemed so long ago, the day it happened. Ponies arguing, infection, killing, running... zombies. She took a determined step forward. It would not happen here; she wouldn't let it. Unstrapping the shotgun from her size, Moon levitated the barrel into the air. She loaded a shell with a metallic clack and fired. "Everypony freeze!" Everypony froze where they stood. Two mares turned their eyes to her, one's teeth fastened in the other's mane. A stallion looked up from the other he had pinned. "Damn, Moon." Dusty whispered as he touched back down beside her. Moon made her way through the shocked crowd of ponies and mounted the wagon, pushing Sage aside. She glared around at all the townsponies, smoking shotgun by her side. "Are you all stupid!?" she hollered. "Why don't you all stop trying to kill each other, and try to find a way for us all not to die!" Moon pointed to Dusty for an example. "The pegasus ponies are fine; they can just fly away, but not too many of you are pegasus ponies, are you? And by not too many, I mean one. So pony up, and learn to deal with our problems instead of shoving it all on one pony!" Panting, she lowered the shotgun and returned it to her side, then turned on Sage angrily. "Isn't this your job?" Sage smiled at Moon like one would to a lover. "Not anymore." Moon cocked her head, momentary burst of anger and adrenaline gone. "What's that supposed to mean." Sage reached up and pulled the headband from her head, her brown mane falling into her eyes as the red cloth was pulled free. Moon stood frozen as Sage reached out and slipped the headband over her own head, adjusting it so it matched how Sage normally wore it: under the mane in the front, and parting it half over and half under in the back. Sage took a step back and nodded approvingly, the same, loving, sad smile on her face. "Good luck Moon." Moon's jaw fell open. "No," she stated. Sage turned and hopped down from the wagon, parting the ponies ahead of her like magic as she headed for the edge of the crowd. "No! You can't do this!" Sage stopped and turned back to face her. "I'm sorry, Moon. But, I can't do this anymore... Now it's your turn." With an apologetic look, she turned her back to Moon and continued on. "But I never asked for a turn!" Moon stood in despair, watching as Sage stopped next to Jade, who seemed unsettled. Had there been crickets in the crowd, they would be chirping. Moon stood on the wagon, looking fearfully out at the townsponies, all of whom were eyeing her expectantly. She raised a hoof. "Give me a minute here." She sat and ran her hoof along the headband. How could Sage do this to her? Although she was silent, the townsponies held their vigil, as if in mourning for the retired leader. They waited for her first move, every eye focused, every ear alert. Moon spotted Snowglobe, who stood on the tips of her hooves. The gray mare smiled and nodded at her, a silent gesture of encouragement. Dusty was in the crowd as well, his face reflecting shock and disbelief. It was now or never. Moon took a firm stance and looked out at the crowd. "Okay... Apparently I'm supposed to lead you ponies." She sighed. "I don't know much about leading, so bear with me. "Something you all need to know: I used to be a pediatrician. I never planned on, or wanted to do this, but Sage left me in charge. And by Celestia, I'll try my best. Now if I'm going to be leading you ponies, you need to know who I am... My name is Blue Moon, formerly of Phillydelphia." She paused. "Now, I may not know much about running a settlement." She levitated the shotgun up to her side. "But there are some things I do know—Staying alive, guns, zombies..." She worked the slide on the shotgun. "And how to kill them." The effect was of her desire. One pony stomped their hooves on the ground, closely followed by two more, then five. In less than a moment, every pony on the street was whooping and cheering for her. Moon smiled lightly. "I should have totally run for elementary class president back in Phillydelphia," she muttered. Raising a hoof, she quelled the cheering. Who knew winning the heart and minds of so many ponies was so easy? "We need to deal with the problem at hoof!" She gestured roughly to the barricade. "There's a lot of hungry zombies out there, and a lot of soon-to-be-hungry ponies in here. We need to do something about it. Now obviously, we don't have enough ammo to shoot every one, so I need ideas." A pink mare near the back raised a hoof. "A distraction maybe? if we could get a pony to—" Moon silenced her with a shake of her head. "No. I'll never allow something like that. Think transportation." "Well, we've got wagons," a green buck piped up. "You think you can pull a wagon faster than a zombie!?" called another rudely. Moon nodded. "He's right. Wagons won't do." Then from, the back of the crowd, Dusty raised his hoof. "How about a train?" * * * "Wake up!" a gruff voice commanded "Gimme' a minute," Willow groaned, rolling over to put her back to the voice. "Willow," she heard Sunny whisper from a little ways away. "Just get up." "Come on," another unknown voice growled. It was followed by a shuffling of hooves and creak of metal. Willow flicked her ears, but didn't move. Everything hurt, more specifically, her whole middle section. Her limbs felt fine, but every movement sent long shivers of pain up her belly. Willow associated the feeling with that of drinking kerosene, a drunken party trick she had once attempted that had ended in a hospital hooked to a stomach pump. Those had been her more invincible years. She had learned two things that night. One was that if it was combustible, it was not meant to be taken internally, which should have been common sense at the time. And that stupidity and hard cider did not mix. Without warning, her entire body was racked with searing pain as pressure was applied to the wound, still was not fully healed from the potion. She screamed and, on reaction, threw a forehoof back. It collided with something soft, and the pain immediately subsided. Now angry, she opened her eyes and sat up. She blinked, noting the numerous rifles trained on her head. The stallion she had struck glared angrily as he climbed to his hooves, blood running from both nostrils. Taking in her surroundings, Willow recognized the cage from last night, now lit brightly by the early morning sun. Sunny and Candy sat off to one side of the tent, both shackled at the hooves. Slowly, WIllow pushed herself to her forehooves, trying to ignore the rifle barrels trained on her head. She kept her movements slow and predictable, not keen to be shot again. "Don't shoot," she lulled to the unblinking ponies such as one would to a scared animal. "I'm not going to try and eat you or anything." The stallion she had clobbered took his place in line, ears folded as he looked around at his comrades, who seemed to find his ordeal rather amusing. "Mare got your tongue?" one joked cruelly. The stallion shook his head confusedly. "Her hoof hit me like a train." Willow bowed her head to him. "Sorry. You really shouldn't have poked me there." The commander, whom she had met yesterday, entered the tent. He stomped officially to the center to nod at his officers. "Get her out of here," was his stiff command. The ponies barring her way moved and Willow started forward, favoring one leg over the other due to her injury. One of the ponies went to shunt her forward and she turned on him with a snarl. "I can walk myself!" she spat, causing the stallion to jump back. He stumbled to a safe distance and trained his rifle on her. "Yeah, point your gun at me," the leered before turning away and continuing forward. The commander smiled at Willow, but not in a good way. "You're a strange mare," he said idly. "Why, she growled, stopping in the middle of the tent, her companions a few feet away. "Because your crappy shooting didn't kill me? Or is it because you aren't able to beat me in a pissing contest?" She glared in triumph as the commander froze, his mind working a mile a minute. Not much to her surprise, the stallion's hoof flashed up and struck her across the muzzle. Trying her best not to cry out or wince in pain, Willow continued to glare into his amused face. He swung again, this time striking her in the brow. She held her glare, even as a trickle of blood ran from a cut on her head and into her eye. The commander grinned smugly. "Oh, playing tough are we?" he motioned to two silent ponies on the right. "Cuff her." He turned back to Willow. "Don't worry, I went through your bag and found your "Antidote." I don't know what it is, and frankly, I don't care. But it's going with you and your friends in a box to Baltimare, where our best scientists will analyze both it and you. Willow fidgeted as the two ponies cuffed her. She held her eyes on the commander, expression cool. Sunny and Candy watched nervously. "I hope all the REA isn't like you," she said rudely. "Because if they are, Equestria is so screwed. The commander just shrugged. "I run things my way. For all I know, the next REA official you meet is going to kiss your boo-boos better and give you a cookie and milk. Here, we do things my way, and that's how it is." The mare whom had helped Willow last night poked her head in the tent. "Sir," she said quietly, throwing a quick eye at Willow. "The skywagon is ready." The commander nodded. "Good. Get those ponies and their junk on board, and then set for Baltimare. Let it be their mess. I don't want a thing to do with this devil mare and her friend the deserter." The yellow unicorn nodded. "Yes sir." She gestured with a hoof for the prisoners to follow. Sunny and Candy shuffled over to meet the mare at the exit. Willow shot one last glare at the commander before following them. Willow tried to cross the camp with as much dignity as possible as the yellow mare lead them to the skywagon, which wasn't much—not with all the rifles trained on her and the way she had to shuffle in the hoofcuffs. Not with the uniformed officers that flanked she and her friends on either side. She shuffled forward and pressed her way in between Sunny and Candy. The orange pegasus walked with his head aloft and wings partially flared, feathers ruffled. Candy on the other hoof, walked with her head low, her mane obscuring most her face. Hiding her face was not all too effective though, for her red and white striped mane was a dead giveaway to her fellow soldiers. "Is that Cane?" WIllow hear a heard a watching stallion whisper to another. "Yeah," was his friend's reply. "Definitely... I wonder what she did." "Things are looking pretty grim," Sunny muttered, shooting Willow a sideways glance. "Yeah..." Willow rolled her eyes and spoke in mock surprise. "Who knew that Candy would accidentally hoof us over to a power-hungry sociopath." THe yellow unicorn mare led her around a corner towards a waiting skywagon. "Do you think all of the army is like this?" Sunny fretted. Willow shook her head, looking down at her hooves. "I don't think they are. I've been around the army before all this. They're Equestrian's army, not a bunch of rogues with guns. It'll be better in Baltimare... you'll see." While Willow was reassuring Sunny, she found herself not knowing whether her words were true, but hoping they were. The pegasus sighed. "I sure hope so." The wagon they were led to was similar to the one they had flown here on. Only this one had no windows, except for two in the very front, and ran about three feet shorter. "A prison wagon," Candy muttered under her breath. "Is this our load to Baltimare?" a blue unicorn mare asked, stepping down out of the wagon. The yellow one nodded. "Yep." A yellow earth pony emerged next. "Well, get them loaded up then," he said impatiently. Willow had no idea how she managed to hold her tongue as she was shunted into the wagon behind her friends. Upon entering, she was lead to the back of a wagon, where a set of bars had been fitted, creating a small holding cell. Willow fought the urge to block the cell door as the blue unicorn swung it closed. The bars fell in place with a clank and the latch was set, inoperable from the inside. She could see why it was called a prison wagon. The back five feet of the craft was no more than a cage with soft-hard cushions on either side, while the front provided two, much more cushioned seats for the captors. The yellow earth pony stallion trotted to the front wall and rapped three times with a forehoof. With a lurch, the wagon started forward. Unable to see due to the lack of windows, WIllow had to reply on the churning in her gut to tell her that they were moving. Willow did not know for how long she rode in silence. She had no sense of time without the view of the sun. It had been a while—certainly long enough for her to get bored. "I'm so sorry' Candy whispered from the very back of the cell, where she hid in the semi-darkness. "I never knew... I never thought..." "It's best you keep quiet right now, Candy." Willow said warningly. "I don't want to end up saying something I'll regret later." Candy opened her mouth, then closed it again. With a sniff, she hung her head and sobbed lightly. Willow looked away and uncomfortably tugged at her hoofcuffs; they were really starting to annoy her. "Take it easy on her," Sunny said flatly from the ground where he lay. "She meant good." "Shut up!" Snapped the stallion from the front of the wagon. "You're prisoners, that means you don't speak!" Willow shook her hoofcuffs, filling the wagon with an obnoxious jingle. "And stop with the chains," he added. "It's annoying." With a roll of her eyes, WIllow stood up and placed her hooves on the bars. "Why don't you take them off me?" she asked innocently. "I think they're pretty annoying too." It was the blue mare's turn to speak. "Are you joking?" she scoffed. "we're not taking your cuffs off." "Look," Willow said bargainingly. "Take the cuffs off please, or I'll take them off." The uniformed mare raised an eyebrow. "Is that a threat?" Willow shook her head. "No, I am just telling you that if you don't take these cuffs off, I'll do it myself." "Good luck," she laughed. "Those are quarter inch steel chains." "Willow," Sunny said slowly. The pegasus was lying on his back and staring up the the ceiling, legs splayed and wings unfurled. "Don't." She looked down at him. "No. I told her to take them off, and she won't." She gave the chain binding her forehooves a tug, testing the metal. "So I'll do it because these things are annoying me." Raising her forehooves to her she bit down on the chain and turned her head to clamp down on it with her molars. The REA ponies watched with amusement as she ran her jaws in a small circle, grinding the chain. She gave one hard bite, and a tug in either direction with her forehooves and the chain snapped in the center link. The blue unicorn's jaw dropped. "Did you just—" she turned in disbelief to the stallion."She just broke the cuffs." He blinked. "Well... put a new pair on her then." Having rolled onto her back to gnaw at the shackles on her rear hooves, Willow snapped the second pair. She rolled to a sitting position and shot a warning glare at the two ponies. "You put a new pair on me and I'll just break them again." "Please don't," Sunny groaned from the floor. "She is one-hundred percent serious." "She's supposed to be a doctor?" the blue mare asked the stallion beside her, who only shrugged. "Do me a favor," WIllow said, fighting a yawn and curling herself into a ball. "Wake me up when you're done being so uptight." "How far is it to Baltimare?" she heard Sunny ask. "Far enough to get us out of the desert," the mare replied. "Thank Celestia for that." "You ever seen a tree, desert pony?" the stallion asked, his gaze fixed on Sunny. "Yeah!" the pegasus replied defensively. "Of course I've seen a tree." "How are you still alive anyways?" the uniformed stallion mused dangerously. "What makes you so special?" Willow sat up intent to see the uniformed stallion's motives. The mare shot the stallion a look. "Don't," she said with annoyance. He brandished a dismissive hoof at her. "Oh it's nothing. I'm just making small talk." To Sunny. "Go on, tell me. I'm curious." "Apart from being immune?" Sunny asked sarcastically, placing a thoughtful hoof on chin. "And apart from escaping Desert Sage alive through underground tunnels, and then hiking through the desert to Appleoosa. Then being caught by a bunch of sociopathic ponies in uniforms." He looked to the yellow stallion. "Let me think." Willow smiled. Maybe she was starting to rub off on the pegasus. That sarcasm had been worthy of her own standards. The smile wiped from the yellow stallion's face faster than water off a duck. He fixed his gaze on Sunny and stepped forward threateningly. "Are you immune to bullets, smart one?" "Back off," his comrade warned, most likely knowing he wouldn't listen. Sunny shifted his position and Willow could tell from his body language that he already regretted speaking. She refrained from jumping at the stallion right there and then. If a pony wanted to pick on her, it was fair game, but not her friends. The yellow pony moved closer, poking the barrel of his carbine through the bars and training it on Sunny. "Let's just say for a minute that you were trying to escape." He smiled. WIllow heard the audible click of the safety catch. That was all it took to set her on him. He was threatening and Sunny and it set her blood boiling. Before anypony could react, she was on her hooves and lunging towards the bars. The cocky stallion made to step back, but misjudged her speed. Catching the end of his carbine's barrel in her mouth, she tugged him towards her until his face smashed against the cell. "Hey!" he yelled, trying to pull free. "Stop it!" He lunged for the firing bit, but Willow was a second faster. She yanked the barrel left just as a shot rang out. The steel in her mouth grew hot, but she kept her teeth tightly fastened. Now even more angry than before, she yanked hard on the barrel and was rewarded with a crack. The stallion screamed in pain as he was smashed against the bars. "Omph gahlsh!" she yelled giving another tug. With a lurch, the barrel tore free of the carbine and Willow flew back to land on Sunny. The yellow stallion stepped hurriedly back, coat red and bleeding in places where he had been pulled against the bars. "Shoot her!' he bellowed to the mare beside him. "Shoot that freak!" He took the bit in his mouth, but Willow only smiled, knowing that the barrel in her mouth had destroyed the firing mechanism. "No," the blue mare said angrily. "You asked for that." He turned to her, looking on the verge of angry tears. "That was an unprovoked attack on a uniformed officer!" "She was protecting her friend!" Blue shouted back. "Now cut the crap! Just because the commander's gone crazy doesn't mean you can too." Willow rolled off of Sunny and spat out her prize, watchig as it clattered to the floor. "Sorry about that," she apologised, sounding the exact opposite of sorry. "Thanks," Sunny said quietly, directing his eyes to his hooves. Willow reached over and messed up his mane, trying to ignore the bickering of the two REA ponies in the front. "I wouldn't let anypony shoot you but me." Sunny smiled. "That actually sounds pretty good." he made a quick movement for her mane, but she batted his hoof away before he could reach her. "That's because I'm a pony you can trust." Sunny met her gaze. "You really are." Something in the pegasus' gaze made her feel uncomfortable for the first time in ages and she hurriedly looked away. "Let's hope we catch a break break in Baltimare. I don't know how many more things I have to break before they put me in a straightjacket." 


	10. Chapter 10

"This is recon team six, requesting permission to land," repeated Candy, speaking into the onboard radio. She released the button and turned to Sunny and Willow. "Only thing on board that didn't get a hole shot through it," she muttered. Sunny gazed out the window at the rapidly growing shape of what Candy had called the temporary forward base. It was maybe a quarter of the size of Appleoosa, not counting the apple orchard. A few zombies milled around outside, not paying attention to much. The flight had taken them a little longer than expected, having to stop for two breaks instead of one to compensate for Jade's lack of wingpower and shorter endurance. It was now early evening and the sun hung low on the horizon, casting the proportion of the small camp in long shadows. From what Sunny could tell from here, the base appeared to be constructed of nothing but temporary materials. Large canvas tents dotted the area inside the chain-link fence, sporting flags, and some others, radio antennas. The radio cracked and the voice of a rather official sounding stallion burst from the speakers. "Team six, you are seventeen hours overdue for arrival. Squad leader, please confirm your identity for safety procedures." Candy sighed, turning to them. "Time to play twenty questions." She hit the transmit button on the radio, taking on a surprisingly formal persona. "This is Private Cane." There was a moment of silence while something was most likely worked over on the other end. "One minute team six." "Is that a problem?" Willow asked Candy with a tilt of her head. Candy shook her head. "They're checking the records for the mission; it's all procedure." "Private Cane," the stallion questioned. "Where is your squadron leader?" The mare hung her head, hoof poised over the button. "Sargent Lime is KIA." She exhaled deeply, closing her eyes. "What about the next in command?" Candy swallowed. "KIA." Another brief pause. "Private Cane, there were four soldiers of higher command than you on that flight. Are you telling me that all of your superiors are out of commission?" Candy moaned, pounding her hoof on the floor of the skywagon. She took a deep, shaky breath. "Yes." "…Team six, you are cleared for landing." Dusty turned to the red stallion beside him. "You lead an' ah'll follow whatever you do!" he called. "Ah have no idea how to land one of these things!" The pony nodded. "Just keep in motion with me and I'll bring us down!" his deep voice yelled back. The pullers brought the wagon around the camp once, before lining up with a small dirt strip near the right of the encampment and beginning their descent. Sunny shifted uncomfortably, suddenly becoming very aware of his duel-gunned battle saddle, assuming the REA might not be too keen of him having it. The wagon passed low over the chain-link fence, allowing Sunny a better view of the encampment. He had been right, there were no permanent buildings, only gray and green canvas tents placed in close proximity to one another. Numerous skywagons were parked in a dirt clearing within the fence. A large generator also sat near the front gate, producing power for both the encampment, and judging from the wires running in the other direction, the electrified fence. Gray-suited ponies trotted to on fro, each one appeared to have something of incredible importance to achieve, apart from a single group of ponies sitting around an outdoor table. Overall, Sunny figured the landing went pretty well, apart from Dusty dropping the front end too fast and bending the frame of the damaged wagon further still. Before they even had a chance to leave the wagon, let alone fully stop, a bulky orange earth pony emerged from one of the larger tents. He set towards them at a swift trot, head held high and limbs so stiff they resembled willow branches. As he neared, Sunny watched a scowl grow across the pony's face and his eyebrows appeared to be trying to grow into his mane. Candy gulped and made her way out of the wagon, giving her mane a small shake. Sunny cast a look to Willow. "I think we should get off too." Nodding, Willow rose to her hooves and started forward; he followed her lead, figuring Candy needed their support. Dusty and Jade pulled themselves out of their harnesses to fall in beside Sunny and Willow as they took quiet stance behind Candy, who appeared to be awaiting the arrival of the orange pony. Casting a nervous look around, Sunny wanted to lower himself to the ground under the prying gaze of so many uniformed ponies watching them. In moments, thirty or so ponies had emerged from different tents, and the ponies at the table had decided to join the circle of surrounding the skywagon as well. Candy stood up tall as the pony Sunny took to be the base commander neared. The orange stallion glared condescendingly down at her. "Private, what is this?" His voice was heated with impatience and annoyance, as if he had previously been doing something important. Candy met his piercing gaze. "What is what sir?" He growled low in his throat. "Don't play that innocent crap with me. Why do you return to base overdue, and missing your entire team? And with four civilians!?" Candy was quiet for a moment. "May I explain sir?" He grunted once. "Not out here." He motioned towards a gray canvas tent with his tail. "This way." He started forward, only to stop a moment later to look back. "All of you, fliers included." "Cheerful one," Sunny muttered as they followed sergeant across the camp. "Tell me about it," Willow added. "He wasn't in charge of base when I left," Candy whispered urgently. "He was the successor; something must have happened." Two ponies standing guard outside one of the larger tents parted the flaps as they neared, allowing them through and letting the flaps fall again after the eight ponies had entered. Four more soldiers stood inside the tent, one in either corner. Sunny wondered how they could stand like statues all day, he could never bear holding still for that long. The commander motioned to his four ponies in the room, bringing them to life it seemed. "I want them disarmed, now," he commanded, pointing towards Sunny's group. Sunny looked around frantically, suddenly becoming very aware of his battle saddle. "Wait, what?" The commander made a choking noise in his throat that could have been a laugh. "What? Do you think you can just strut around a military facility toting guns about? Two of the uniformed ponies approached Sunny first, most likely taking him as the biggest threat, and set to the task of removing his battle saddle. "You ever seen a saddle like this?" he heard one murmur. "Once," the other replied, this one a mare. "This thing's old. They were standard REA issue back when guns were still new." Sunny cast a glance to Dusty, who appeared to be fidgeting with something. He undid the strap holding the holster for Valediction do his leg. Hurriedly, he turned his head back and tucked the weapon into his mane, successfully managing to hide it. Sunny looked around, glad none of the guards had noticed. He felt the weight of the saddle lifted from his back and turned to see one of the uniformed ponies carrying it to one corner of the room. The other moved on to Willow, removing her automatic pistol, much to the white mare's protest. The commander motioned towards Candy. "Hers too." Candy's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" He shot her a warning look. "You went AWOL private." She gaped at him. "My skywagon crashed!" "And then you returned with four civilians and no evidence of your squadron but a bloody skywagon!" "I never abandoned anypony!" The commander raised a hoof for her silence and turned to glare at Dusty. "Didn't you have a weapon on you?" The pegasus shook his head respectfully. "No sir," he said evenly. The commander narrowed his eyes. "I'm watching you." He turned slowly, sweeping the seven disarmed ponies in front of him with a condescending glare, finally coming to rest on Candy. "Well, you wanted to explain. Now do it!" She took a step forward, face red from anger, though when she spoke, her voice remained even. "During the Desert Sage mission, Private Dodge was somehow infected. He turned in the wagon. He went to bite our medic and he bit down on the trigger for his saddle… He was our big guns. Everypony died but me and the two fliers here with us." "So why are you still alive?" he asked slowly. "Because sir, I ducked." "You ducked," he said mockingly. "Yes sir, I did—" "Hold it!" he interrupted. "If they were all shot on the wagon, then where are the bodies?" Candy gulped. "I… I-I discarded them sir." The commander didn't have to speak, his eyes said it all. "I told her to," the red pegasus with the dark golden brown mane added quickly. "We would have all died had she not pushed the dead out of the wagon; there was too much weight. She had to, and I told her to do it." The commander held a dangerously cool face. "Continue your story, Private." She blinked, most likely surprised as the lack of reprimand. "T-two of our fliers and a spark battery were hit. We had to make an emergency landing in the surviving settlement of Appleoosa." "It's true," the red pegasus put in. "One moment we're flying, the next, bullets are shooting everywhere and the two ponies beside me took the heat." Candy continued her story. "In Appleoosa I found two fliers willing to aid me in returning to base." Candy threw a glance at Willow. "And possibly a cure." The commander blinked. "A cure?" He didn't sound convinced. "Really?" Willow stepped forward. "Yes. I can prove it with my own immunity." She made a motion towards Sunny. "He has some sort of natural immunity that I don't know how to analyze." "So you expect me to just believe you?" he asked. The commanded was treating this whole thing as If it were some big joke. "Yes sir. I expect you to believe me. I have no reason to lie." "And why should I?" Something flashed in Willow's blood-orange eyes. "You'll listen to me if you have any sense," she said heatedly. The stallion blinked again, and smiled. "You should really watch your tone," he said dangerously. Willow opened her mouth for a hot retort, but Sunny frantically shook his head at her. She stopped and took a deep breath. "What do you propose? I have means of it in my possession." The commander brought his hoof to his chin, mocking deep thought. "And I suppose you want me to go out of my way for this?" "Look," Willow snapped. "I came here share a possible antidote and maybe even help with a cure, not to get into a pissing contest with a cynical base commander that walks like he's got a stick shoved up under his tail. But if you start a pissing contest I'll play, and I'll win." "Willow!" sunny hissed. "I thought I told you not to!" The commander stepped forward, a certain gleam in his eyes. "Since the infection," he started, almost casually. "The REA has gone quite lax on procedure. The former commander, as of yesterday, maintained procedure very well. As you know, the commander's word is law. There isn't enough organization on the REA's part to do it any other way." He paused. "Now I am going to investigate a bit further into your claims of a cure. I will have you and the pegasus sent to Baltimare for testing." "Now we're getting somewhere," Willow mumbled. "Now as put into effect yesterday, civilians are no longer permitted entry to the base or view of its inner workings. We would hate for it to get out how this branch of the REA treats civilians. " He rallied his guards with a circular glance. "Take them to the edge of the compound," he ordered. "Dispose of them, the pullers too; after this, they'll run the minute they can." The unruly pony turned to Candy. "I'll speak with you later; we have some… business to talk before you are dismissed. The seven of them all exchanged horrified glances, all coming to the realization of what had just been ordered. Willow began to spurt a chain of profanities at the commander before a rifle lined up with her head, thoroughly quelling her verbal assault. Candy stepped out of the line, ignoring the rifles that followed her from the four armed guards. As she approached the commander, every muscle in her body trembled. The stallion looked at her with mild amusement on her face. She turned to look back at the rest of them. "Run," she said flatly. Sunny squinted. "What?" Candy flung herself sideways and tackled the nearest guard to the ground, taking them all by surprise. "I said run!" Not bothering to question, the red and purple pegasi bolted for the exit. The commander drew I pistol and took aim at Candy. He fired, but missed, instead, striking the pony Candy was wrestling with. The other three guards readied their battle saddles. Sunny ducked as one took aim at him and Jade sprung into the air. She flew directly at the canvas ceiling in the tent, tearing a hole in it and disappearing into the evening air. "Sorry!" she yelled back at them from out of sight. "I'm not dying here!" "Go!" Candy bellowed as another stallion hopped on her to replace the one who had been shot. "I'm not leaving you!" Willow bellowed, diving into the fray. The commander stepped back and aimed at Willow, who had diverted the attention from Candy and was battling a stallion and a mare up close, always keeping herself away from their gun barrels. He held his fire, probably not wanting to hit another of his own, but continued to try and fine an opportunity to shoot. Dusty drew Valediction as two more uniformed ponies charged into the tent through the front entrance. He fired and the air was filled with a loud crack as the rifle on the left pony's back split. Apparently, Dusty was taking the non-lethal approach. Willow bit down on the barrel of a blue unicorn's rifle and bent it sixty degrees. The pony reared up and delivered a heavy kick to Willow's face that sent the mare sprawling. The commander took aim. Sunny charged at him, driving his head into the bulky pony's flank. His shot missed, instead, pitting the ground a few feet away. The commander, having been so focused on Willow, lost his balance and flopped over onto his side. While the stallion was stunned, Sunny turned to Dusty, who had succeeded in disarming another soldier. "Go!" he yelled. "You can fly out of here!" "Ah'm not leavin'!" Dusty shouted back. Sunny ran up to the pegasus and shouldered him forward. "Go! We aren't getting out; you can still make it!" He could hear shouts and yells outside. Any minute now the whole camp would come pouring into the tent. "We're immune! They aren't going to kill us, but they'll kill you! Now go!" Dusty nodded once, the motion seeming to hurt him. "Stay strong," he said glumly. Unfurling his wings, the pegasus sprang into the air and disappeared through the hole left by Jade. Just then, the tent flap burst open and five more soldiers rushed in with battle saddles at the ready. Willow left Candy's aid and charged them. The ponies dodged as the raging mare flew at them, instead spreading out in a circle. Willow flung herself on one and stomped the unfortunate pink mare to the ground. She turned on the others and took stance, low to the ground and poised to spring. Blood ran from multiple cuts on her heaving flanks, and one from her cheek. "Who wants some," she challenged, putting on a maniacal smile. A bullet pierced her side with a meaty thwack. Blood sprayed the ground near her belly and she staggered to the side. She turned to commander, who held a smoking pistol in his mouth! "Ouch!" she bellowed. "That bucking hurt you two-bit rent-a-cop!" She staggered around in a circle, shouting profanities. One hoof caught on the other and Willow tripped, flopping over onto her side. "Willow!" Sunny called, running over to his friend. The mare Candy had been wrestling with released her grasp and the two picked themselves up, their fight totally forgotten. The commander returned his pistol to its holster and surveyed the scene, then turned his gaze to the orange pegasus at the injured mare's side. "Oh how nice," he said flatly. He turned to the soldiers in the room that were still standing, which was about seven; four more were unconscious and one probably dead, killed by the commander himself. "Lock them up," he ordered. "Put Private Cane in with them. That mare has performed mutiny. We fly them to Baltimare in the morning." * * * Moon trotted between two apple trees, two baskets of apples slung over her back and a shotgun underneath that. She emptied the load of apples into the nearby wagon and proceeded to the pump to fill the basket with water to haul back to the trees. She honestly could not understand how Appleoosans did this most of the day. She was only on her third run and already bored out of her wits. It was all too repetitive; bucket of apples, bucket of water, bucket of apples, bucket of water. She reached the line for the water pump, which seemed to be steadily growing longer, and took a place at the back, waiting. Ponies stood in the rapidly growing line, waiting for their turn at the pump and talking about whatever could pass as mildly interesting. It was the day after Sunny and Willow had left, and her first day in the orchard; if she would be staying here, then it would be best to get into the habit of helping out. A green maned, yellow earth pony caught her eye; he was looking right at her. She continued to look ahead, pretending she hadn't noticed. After a moment, the young stallion trotted over to stand beside her in line, doing his best to act nonchalant, but failing terribly—she expected him to start whistling any second now. She spotted a group of stallions some distance away, the four them looking at her and presumably their friend expectantly. 'go on,' one mouthed to the stallion beside Moon. Moon allowed herself a knowing smile. The yellow stallion's friends were trying to goad him into talking to her, and judging by their overeager expressions, maybe a little something more. "So um, hi," the yellow earth pony said skeptically. "I'm Stacks." Moon closed her eyes and rolled them beneath her eyelids. She was bored enough to eat her own hooves; what would it hurt to see much she could mess with these ponies. She had done it quite a bit before the infection; hopefully she hadn't gotten rusty. "Well that's an… interesting name," she returned. Moon heard a low snicker from the pony's friends and felt a sudden wave of sympathy for the yellow stallion. "Yeah," he added. "I used to stack boxes and pallets before the zombies… it stuck." Moon put on her best serious face. "Before the infection, I used to shoot ponies." Just because she felt a little sorry for him because of his teasing friends didn't mean she still wouldn't have a little fun. Stacks opened his mouth to say something but stopped. He tilted his head at Moon, a look of confusion on his face. He overcame the minor shock and shook his head. "Okay, that's… cool. Well, I just saw you standing here all alone… and I figured—" "No," Moon interupted. "Wait… what?" Stacks asked, going red. She sighed. "The only reason you're over here is because your friends are trying to get you to hook up with me so they stick things inside me." Stacks tried to stammer something, but Moon continued. "You know, and I know, that most mares wouldn't throw a second glance at you or your friends, and not to gloat here, but I think I can say I look a little better than most mares." The stallion's jaw trembled as he tried to think of something to say. His yellow face had gone as red as the apples in the trees. Moon was thoroughly enjoying herself, but she did feel a little bad for him. His friends were going to give him quite a hard time after what she had just done. She could tell by the way they laughed; they were that other crowd that seemed to think swearing and breaking things was cool, unlike the stallion by her now. He didn't really seem to fit with them. "Tell you what," she said after a moment. "I can tell you really need to impress those friends of yours, or you'll never hear the end of it." Stacks asked her to continue with a look, still trying to force down the red in his face. "Because I feel sorry for you, here's what I'm going to do." She stepped closer and draped her tail over his back. Leaning close, she whispered in his ear. "You can go tell your friends whatever you think they wanted to hear, and if they ask me, I'll back it up. Now I'm going to walk away and act all seductive, and you can tell them what you want from there." She pulled away and headed for the trees, purposefully swaying her hips. She turned and looked directly at Stacks' three friends and smiled. Moon dropped the act when she was sure she was far enough away that they couldn't see or hear her. She dropped to the ground below an apple tree. Rolling onto her back, she kicked her hooves in the air, laughing hysterically. She hadn't ever done something that crazy. "That was awesome," she gasped. Before the infection, she never would have even thought about doing something like that. She had always been trying to make some sort of a reputation. Moon attempted to scold herself for what she had done. "That was a bad thing to do," she said condescendingly. "You could give the townsponies the wrong idea." She ignored her better self. That was fun! She lay on her back, hooves curled up to her belly, staring up at a plump red apple. "What's so funny?" a familiar voice asked. Moon looked up to see Snowglobe standing in front of her, looking down with a curious expression. Hurriedly, she rolled over onto her side. "Not much, just messing with stallions." Snowglobe raised an eyebrow at her. "Not like that," she added. The gray mare's horn glowed as she picked the apple Moon had been staring at and sat down beside her. Levitating the apple to her mouth, she took a bite and looked over at Moon. "I'm worried…" Taking another bite of apple, she continued to look at Moon. "Worried about what" Snowglobe began without hesitation, as if she had just been waiting to confide in somepony. "I think we may be in trouble with the water." "Go on," Moon prodded. Snowglobe now had her full attention. The mare usually knew what she was talking about, so chances were she had a good point here. Snowglobe sighed. "The water from the well has a lot of sediments in it—flakes of calcium and a bunch of other little things like that. Being the certified maintenance pony that I am, I know this means that the pumps are drawing water near the bottom of the reserve. That means that we're almost out of water and the pumps are pulling what's left off the bedrock." Moon's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" Snowglobe folded her ears. "Would I be telling you this if I wasn't sure?" Moon jumped to her hooves. "Well we have to tell Sage about this right now!" She made to leave but Snowglobe stopped her with an outstretched forehoof. "I don't want to frenzy anypony. It'll be like the hospital all over again if this gets out." Moon nodded briefly. "Okay, we'll keep it quiet, but we still have to tell Sage. She's their leader; if anypony needs to know, it's her." "I thought this place was safe," Snowglobe sniffed. "We're going to have to leave. We're going to run out of water here. Sage said there was a huge well under Appleoosa, either she was wrong or all this hot weather dried it up. When the water runs out…" Moon placed a hoof on the fretting mare's back. "Hey now," she comforted. "We don't know yet if the water's really almost gone." Snowglobe seemed to take the gesture as an invitation to touch and rested her muzzle against Moon's flank. "Really, how long do you think any well is going to last in conditions as dry as these?" Moon pulled away from the mare. "A-heh… Not very long…" She cleared her throat, hating the silence and trying to ignore Snowglobe's worried face. "Come on, we still need to tell Sage." Together the two mares left the orchard and made their way back to the town, not much of a walk considering the two weren't too far apart. A ten foot path had been fenced in to allow safe passage from zombies between the orchard and the town. Soon they were back on the street through the center of town. Moon spotted the pony she was looking for atop the barricade, near the gate. The turquoise mare was speaking with one of the guards. As of today, two pistols were strapped to both forelegs, courtesy of Willow's stash. "Well it's a problem," Sage said angrily to the pink guard as Moon and Snowglobe approached. "What are we going to do if there's even more of them?" Moon squinted at the two ponies as she climbed the staircase to the walkway above. "More of what?" Sage turned to them as if startled. "Oh it's you… We have a problem." She pointed a hoof out to the desert. "Try not to alarm anypony yet—I want to try and figure out how to address this." "What's the big…?" She froze. "…deal… That's a lot of zombies." In the distance, were hundreds of little rainbow specs. "Celestia, they found us." There were too many to count, all lined up on the horizon. "We, don't have enough ammo to shoot them all," the guard mare said worriedly. Snowglobe gulped. "Are you suggesting we let them pile up? Would the wall even hold them back?" Sage stomped her hoof on the wooden walk for effect, and was rewarded with a thonk. "Of course it will. I just don't like the idea of those things right behind the wall." Moon stepped forward, watching repulsively as the colorful mass slowly neared. "Well, I don't think we have much choice." "I'm going to have to tell her, aren't I?" Snowglobe groaned. Sage frowned. "Tell me what?" Snowglobe sighed. "There's sediment in the water." "And?" "…That means the water in the well is so low that the pumps are pulling some of the sediment from the bedrock." Sage glared as if Snowglobe had just insulted her. "How do you know?" Snowglobe stood proudly. "I'm a fully certified maintenance technician. I've dealt with enough wells to know a dry one when I see it. I spent almost a year with a groundwater drilling company near Dodge." The turquoise mare swallowed, turning first to the zombie ponies, then back to Snowglobe. She did this three more times. "No," she stated apathetically. "This can't be happening. . . We-we should have gone with Braeburn and Silverstar." She flopped back on her haunches. "I screwed us." A choked laugh escaped her vocals. "I totally screwed us all!" "You can't say that," the pink mare replied. "You have no idea what could have happened to the others when they left. They're probably dead. Have you heard any news from them?" Moon just balked at Sage. "Why are you talking like we're going to die? What's wrong with you?" Sage, at the moment, did not appear able to produce any form of intelligent speech. The pink guard mare backed away slowly. "Yeah… I'm just going to leave you three to it." Hurriedly, she made herself disappear. Sage let out a strangled laugh. Reaching up, she pulled the strip of red cloth from around her head. Moon gasped. Sage looked like a totally different pony. The image of Appleoosa's leader vanished before her eyes to be replaced by a sad, lost mare. Her brown hair hung into her eyes and around her face where it had not before. What now sat in front of Moon was a tired and defeated mare. "I'm done," she choked, fighting back tears. "I can't handle this anymore… I'm not cut out to run a whole settlement. Look, I screwed up; now we're all in trouble because I wouldn't leave." "Come on," Moon said in an attempt at comfort. She cast a pleading look to Snowglobe, who only shrugged. "Well thanks," she hissed, focusing back on Sage. "It doesn't matter if we're almost out of water and we can't leave because hundreds of zombies are starting to surround the town. "We'll do something." Snowglobe drew a hiss of breath between her teeth. "Well, when you put it that way it sounds really bad. "You aren't helping!" Moon snapped at her. She sat back and raised her hooves. "Hey, sorry." A passing townspony slowed to a halt, balking at Sage in the mess she was in. Moon hurriedly herded Sage down from the barricade and behind a wagon, out of the sight of prying eyes. Last thing any of them needed was for the rumor that their leader was losing it passing about—it would be chaos. If there was one thing Moon had learned from the first day of the infection, it was that normal ponies turned into crazies in a state of crisis without any form of organization. Without some sort of leader, ponies crumbled and started to listen to whoever could yell the loudest, and that was usually the dumbest of them all. "I can't," Sage whispered. "Somepony else has to help me. Jade was the only pony I could talk to and she left with the others." She sniffed. "I'm not responsible enough to hold the lives of so many ponies in my hooves." "Man," Snowglobe whispered in Moon's ear. "Look at her—she's not doing so good." Moon looked at Sage, who was now examining a pebble, completely oblivious of her surroundings. "No!" she stated, not sure of the meaning or where she was going. "No!" She grabbed Sage's headband and slung it back over her head. "You have to hold together." Sage looked up unseeingly, her headband covering her eyes. "I've been trying… but what am I supposed to do now? We're surrounded, with hardly any weapons, and almost no water. Food too, considering the water is the only thing keeping the trees alive." Moon had to agree that they weren't in the best shape. "Just try and hang in there." Reaching out, she adjusted Sage's headband so as it no longer covered her eyes. "Flyers incoming!" Moon jumped at the call from a pony on guard. "Four of them!" Sage scrunched her brow. "Four? One's uncommon enough." Moon bolted out from behind the wagon and up the stairs to brown stallion who had given the warning. "A skywagon crew?" she asked hopefully. He shook his head, pointing out at the sky. "Just four pegasi. No skywagon." Snowglobe came up on her left. "Think they're zombies?" Moon peered closer. She couldn't make out anything but the silhouettes of the four pegasi; the late afternoon sun shone nearly behind them, making it impossible to look directly at the ponies. "No," replied Sage, her voice once again firm, appearing to have regained her composure. "They're flying to straight to be zombies. Zombies fly like they only have one wing." "Think it's the skywagon group?" Snowglobe mused. Moon nodded. "I think so… but where's the skywagon?" "Sunny and Willow too," Snowglobe added. The four of them watched quietly as the pegasi neared, not knowing what to expect. Moon picked out Dusty and Jade right away as they neared; they were with the other two pegasi who had flown in. Dusty fixed his gaze on her as they moved in to land, signifying that he spotted them. The four pegasi landed a little to the right. Jade panted heavily, letting her tongue loll out of her mouth. Moon shot a worried smile to Dusty while Jade trotted up to meet Sage. Dusty on the other hoof, did not smile. He walked slowly up to Moon and Snowglobe, holding a gloomy expression. "What happened?" she asked, mind clouding with worry. "The REA aren't the ponies we thought they were." He made to walk away, but Moon moved to block his path. "What's that supposed to mean?" Dusty looked over at her, his eyes meeting hers levelly. They exchanged unspoken words that seemed to say most of what she was worrying. This was the first time Moon had actually seen Dusty mad. She had seen him flustered, or annoyed plenty of times, but right now, something different shone in his eyes, making the normally cheery pegasus almost unrecognizable. "The REA is holding Sunny and Willow captive. They're goin' to haul them off to Baltimare for testing." Moon felt like she was going to pass out. Her vision blurred as a wave of panic and adrenaline surged through her body. "W-what?" Dusty took an inpatient breath. "They're gone; in the morning they're going to be hundreds of miles away. The REA's all screwed up. They tried to kill us." Moon looked around frantically, noting the worried expression on Snowglobe's face. "We have to do something!" "Damn it Moon!" Dusty snapped, stomping his hoof on the wooden planks. "It's the Celestia damned REA! What, you think we can just go stroll in the place and go ask nicely for them to give us our friends back!?" He exhaled a shaky breath, turning away from her. "Unless they manage to bust themselves out, they aren't goin' anywhere but up north." * * * Sunny glanced around the dark cage for what he guessed was the hundredth time. They had been hauled to a tent near the back of the camp. Since there weren't any buildings here, animal cages served as cells. As the commander had put it, they were in captivity until they could be taken to Baltimare in the morning. He tapped his hoof absently, receiving a light, metallic clack. Above him, there was a metal roof, below him, there was a metal floor, and steel bars held them both apart. "Do you think she's going to be okay?" Candy asked worriedly. Sunny looked slowly over to the mare, only able to make out her silhouette in the dull moonlight shining through the open tent flap. "I don't know," he said flatly. "Look, I'm sorry," she apologized for the tenth time. "I had no idea you would be treated that way. The REA isn't like this. He's in the wrong." He scoffed. "Well, I guess things change." Sunny turned his attention to Willow. The injured mare lay splayed on her side against the bars of the cage, her flanks rising and falling slowly. Sunny had examined the wound, and although he didn't know much about anatomy, he certainly knew it was bad. She had been shot diagonally from behind, a little ahead of her hind legs and right in the middle of her side. Blood had since caked her coat around the wound, and shone black in the moonlight. There had been an entry wound, but no exit, which signified that she still had a bullet buried somewhere inside her. Reaching over, he brushed a lock of her crimson mane away from her face. "Hang in there," he said quietly. Willow opened her eyes, casting the faintest orange-yellow glow across the cage floor. "Come on," she said, shooting him a smile and trying to sound optimistic, but failing. "It's not that bad." Sunny gave his head a shake. He couldn't get over the fact that her eyes actually glowed. They actually gave off light; it was very faint, but it was light, actual light. He shot a look to Candy, who had retreated to the opposite corner, before returning his gaze back to Willow. "You can't even move Willow." She rolled her luminescent eyes. "I could move." She coughed once. "I'm not moving because I don't want to re-open the wound. The only reason it's stopped bleeding is because all the blood has clotted. It'll break them all open again if I move." She shifted her weight with a sharp gasp. "And I'm pretty sure there's a bullet lodged in my intestinal track; my bowels are telling me something isn't quite right." Sunny sighed, resting his hoof on Willow's neck. "You're lucky." He paused, examining her wound. "Sort of. Any further forward and it would have been your stomach, or your heart, or a lung." Willow blinked her eyes in acknowledgement, unable to nod. "All of which would have killed me." They sat in silence for a while, the only sound that of their breathing in the small space and the occasional zap of a zombie hitting the fence outside. Sunny hung his head, eyes tracking the ground. This wasn't fair. What had they done to deserve any of this? They had come to the REA camp of their own accord, and presented them with a possible antidote. So what do they do? Try to kill his friends and then lock them in an animal cage. A sudden burst of anger shot through him. Without warning, he reared up and slammed his forehooves against the bars, rattling the cage. "Somepony give her a damned healing potion!" he bellowed into the night air. "She is going to die! Don't you care you useless piles of scum!?"He struck the bars again, once again shattering the quiet night air. "Calm it Sunny," Willow said as she exhaled. "You're just going to make them shoot you." "Good!" he snapped back at her. "I hope they shoot me, and that damned idiot in the corner!" He pointed an accusing hoof at Candy. "Shut up!" a tired voice yelled somewhere out in the camp. Candy had pressed herself so forcefully up against the steel bars in the corner that they furrowed her coat. Willow raised her head to look at Sunny, the movement procuring a slight grimace. "Sunny," she said levelly, soothingly. "This isn't you; you aren't the angry pony I see right now. If there's anypony that should be yelling and hitting things, it's me. Just... sit down, and let what whatever happens, happen." Willow's calm presentation seemed to calm Sunny, and he allowed himself a few deep breaths. "They can't do this," he added feebly, previous vigor gone. He turned desperately to Candy. "Can't you talk to them or something?" She only glared. "What do you think? I attacked fellow REA members and allowed the escape of three prisoners." Sunny scoffed. "They weren't prisoners; he was going to kill them." Candy stomped a hoof. "You're missing the point. I disobeyed a direct order and betrayed the commanding officer. I have officially thrown my ticket into the 'Mutiny' helmet. I'm surprised they didn't kill me right there and then." He sighed, lowering his head back to the floor. "I'm sorry. All this is just, so... I don't like small spaces either." Candy returned the sigh. "Things have changed. The REA is supposed to help ponies. It... it almost feels like they've given up, and just broken off into a band of rogues... It can't be this bad anywhere else. Watch, we're going to get to Baltimare and they're going to let you two go and—" The room darkened as a pony's silhouette filled the entryway, blocking out the grey moonlight. Sunny turned angrily, expecting another gloating REA member. "What do you want?" he asked venomously. Sunny didn't understand why he was so enraged. This was abnormal for him. Normally, he was calm, and usually didn't get mad very easily. Right now, he just wanted to find something and stomp it into the ground. Suddenly, the moonlight was drown out as a pony pushed their way into the tent, creeping low to the ground. "What do you want?" Sunny asked the dark shape heatedly. "Shhhhh," was the shaded pony's reply as she slunk into the tent. "Come to gloat?" Sunny growled. The pony crept up to the cage and her features were drawn up in the moonlight. She was a unicorn, yellow with a white-blue mane. The room suddenly shone a light-blue as her horn flared to life. "No," the new arrival whispered. Willow lifted her head halfway up from the ground. "Why are you here?" she asked with caution. The yellow unicorn's eyes went wide at the sight of Willow. "I want you to know that I don't approve of this. Some of the officers have gone sour. If I could do anything to stop them, I would." She threw a look around, then opened a flap on her saddlebags and levitated out a deep purple potion. "Your friend needs this," she said, passing it through the bars. Willow's already glowing eyes lit up as they tracked the path of the glass vial, then she turned her head disbelievingly towards the mare. The unicorn took a startled step backwards "Celestia..."she balked. "Your eyes... they glow like a zombie's." "Correction," Willow said painfully. "Zombie's eyes glow yellow." The yellow mare shook her head disbelievingly, then took a step away from the cage. "I wish I could help, but the only thing I can do is wish you luck. So..." She turned to leave. "Good luck." "Wait," Willow said hurriedly, turning the yellow mare back resiliently. "Yes?" the mare asked skeptically. "You need to bring me a pair of tweezers, pliers, anything to get this bullet out of me. I can't just guzzle a healing potion and leave it inside. The mare swallowed. "E-Excuse me?" Willow rolled hr luminescent eyes. "The wound won't heal right if there's a bullet in me. It'll work its way further into my body if I just seal the wound, then I'll just be screwed later." The yellow mare opened her mouth to speak, but only closed it a moment later. "Don't you need anesthetic?" she asked evasively. Another roll of the eyes. "I'd like anesthetic, but those pricks took all of my medical supplies." The yellow mare turned and left without another word, leaving them in silence as the tent flap swished shut. Sunny didn't think she would come back. He lay back down with a sigh and watched as Willow studied the healing potion skeptically. Much to his surprise, the mare did return, a pair of long, thin tweezers levitating by her side. "Will this work?" she asked quietly, levitating the tweezers through the bars and holding them in front of Willow. "Yeah," the injured mare whispered back as the Tweezers dropped to the floor beside her. "Thank you." The mare nodded once, then turned and left. Throughout the whole ordeal, Candy hadn't said a word, or made a sound. She sat in the far corner of the cage, pressed up against the cold steel bars, Wallowing in what Sunny could only assume was pitty. Willow looked to her wound, then to the tweezers. She sighed for what seemed like the tenth time that night. "I'm going to need your help Sunny." His head shot up. "What?" "You're going to have to get the bullet out." He shook his head vigorously. "No. No, i can't do that." Willow flicked her tail irritably. "Sunny," she said crossly. "I can't jab a pair of tweezers into my flank and go digging for lead; I'll be too busy trying not scream. Please, I need your help." Regretfully, Sunny nodded. "Alright... Is there way way I should do it? Or..." She shook her head. "Just stick it in and dig until you find something little and hard. I haven't been eating any rocks or anything, so there should only be one hard thing lodged in my intestines." He gulped. "Well... that's nice." Willow grinned up at him. "I hope you aren't squeamish." "No," Sunny replied flatly. "I'm just not very keen to go digging inside my friend with a pair of tweezers." She smiled. "Remember that old game, Operation?" He nodded, eyeing to tweezers. "Good," Willow levitated the tweezers over to Sunny. "Just pretend you're trying to get the butterfly." The yellow mare winced as a strangled scream echoed throughout the camp. "Should have gotten her some pain killers," she muttered. * * * "Celestia... it's gotten worse," Moon said under her breath. She strode beside Dusty as they circled the town atop the barrier. It was the day after Dusty and Jade had arrived with the bad news. Since then, nothing had changed but the number of zombies gnawing at the wall. "When did they all start showin' up?" Dusty asked. Moon rolled her eyes up. "I'd say about an hour before you did." The pegasus shook his head slowly. "Ah don't get it. Somehow, they like, found the town or somethin'... Willow would know. She was the zombie expert." Moon felt her heart drop as she was reminded of her two missing companions, Sunny more than Willow. She missed the pegasus, missed him more than she could bear. Just thinking about it stuck her breath in her chest and filled her belly with a sinking feeling. Dusty flicked his tail and turned to Moon. "You have any idea why Sage is using us as her personal consultants now?" Moon sighed. "Sage isn't doing so well. I guess she's just looking for help. She was never fit to run a settlement. She may look strong, but she takes that headband off and she's a totally different pony." She looked down at a throng of zombies pressed against the barrier like sardines in a can. It seemed strange, but, sometime after the hospital, zombies had stopped being scary. Sure they could still eat you and you would die, but she had her shotgun and they were too stupid to hide. Looking down at them from the barrier like this had the same effect at looking down at a caged, ferocious beast. No matter how scary it is, it just isn't scary. Dusty stopped and perked his ears. "Ah hear ponies yellin'." Moon stopped as well, tilting her head to one side to listen with her left ear. She could definitely hear ponies yelling... lots of ponies yelling. "Sounds like some sort of commotion in town." Dusty blinked slowly. "I reckon we should go check it out then." With practiced ease, Dusty sprang from the barrier and unfurled his wings to glide down to ground level. He landed smoothly and flapped his wings a single time for balance before re-furling them. "Oh, sure." Moon rolled her eyes as the pegasus smiled cheekily up a her. "Leave the mare to take the stairs. With a not-so-irritated huff, she trotted the extra ten feet to the rickety staircase and descended there. The two cut between two buildings and emerged on the main street, where a throng of ponies had gathered in a semicircle. "Jeez," Dusty said as they neared the clamorous group. "It looks like the whole town is out here." Moon looked over the group of ponies with raised eyebrows. "I think the whole town is here." "There you are!" a recognizable voice called. Snowglobe trotted up and took stance on Moon's right. "I've been wondering were you two have been," she stated. "I still can't find Brick. I haven't seen him since word got out that Willow and Sunny were gone." Moon flinched. Another jab in the heart. "What's going on here?" she asked Snowglobe. "The townsponies are catching on," the gray mare replied in a hushed tone. "What with the sudden water conservation and all the zombies outside. They're starting to get antsy." Snowglobe shrugged. "Okay." "Okay...? As in, no breakdowns?" she pressed. "Not so far." Moon nodded with relief. "Good. Let's hope it stays that way." Sage stood atop a flat-decked wagon, which had been surrounded by ponies. "What's with this new water stuff!?" one yelled in a squeak. "What're we gun' do 'bout the zombies!?" another hollered. Moon watched from the back of the group as Sage began to crumble under the barrage of questions and acquisitions. "Doing okay," she said in a mock of Snowglobe's voice, procuring a look from the gray mare. Suddenly, Sage's face turned hard and she stomped her hoof. "You want it straight?" she said in exasperation. "I'll tell it to you straight... We're running out of water, and as all of you know, there are zombies surrounding us. Put one and two together and you have one majorly screwed town. A shocked silence fell over the crowd. "So... what do we do then?" squeaked a mare near the front. Sage lowered her head. "I don't know. That's what I was trying to figure out." She looked up, looking as Moon had seen her earlier. "I have no idea what to do. Anypony have a plan that will un-screw us?" "Well," a red stallion asked. "Can we shoot them? maybe—" "Not enough ammo," Sage interrupted. Silence Sage stood tall. "I'm tired of making all the decisions. You ponies are going to have to help me out here." She stood quietly, saying no more, watching with absolutely no interest as ponies began to mutter and argue. Before Moon could even contemplate what was happening, she was was standing in the middle of a full-fledged screaming contest. A few ponies shrank away from the arguing mass, taking the sensible side and not joining in on the chaos. Moon balked. "It's Desert Sage all over again!" One burly stallion sporting a cowpony hat threw a hoof at another chewing on a cattail and the real chaos began. Moon and Snowglobe dodged out of the way as two mares rolled by, biting and kicking at one another. Dusty jumped into the air and hovered above, out of reach. Sage stood blankly on top of the wagon, staring off into space as the brawl raged on. A couple of doors cracked along the length of the street, anxious foals or mothers peeking out to see the commotion. Moon stared ahead, her mind bringing her back to that day in Desert Sage which seemed so long ago, the day it happened. Ponies arguing, infection, killing, running... zombies. She took a determined step forward. It would not happen here; she wouldn't let it. Unstrapping the shotgun from her size, Moon levitated the barrel into the air. She loaded a shell with a metallic clack and fired. "Everypony freeze!" Everypony froze where they stood. Two mares turned their eyes to her, one's teeth fastened in the other's mane. A stallion looked up from the other he had pinned. "Damn, Moon." Dusty whispered as he touched back down beside her. Moon made her way through the shocked crowd of ponies and mounted the wagon, pushing Sage aside. She glared around at all the townsponies, smoking shotgun by her side. "Are you all stupid!?" she hollered. "Why don't you all stop trying to kill each other, and try to find a way for us all not to die!" Moon pointed to Dusty for an example. "The pegasus ponies are fine; they can just fly away, but not too many of you are pegasus ponies, are you? And by not too many, I mean one. So pony up, and learn to deal with our problems instead of shoving it all on one pony!" Panting, she lowered the shotgun and returned it to her side, then turned on Sage angrily. "Isn't this your job?" Sage smiled at Moon like one would to a lover. "Not anymore." Moon cocked her head, momentary burst of anger and adrenaline gone. "What's that supposed to mean." Sage reached up and pulled the headband from her head, her brown mane falling into her eyes as the red cloth was pulled free. Moon stood frozen as Sage reached out and slipped the headband over her own head, adjusting it so it matched how Sage normally wore it: under the mane in the front, and parting it half over and half under in the back. Sage took a step back and nodded approvingly, the same, loving, sad smile on her face. "Good luck Moon." Moon's jaw fell open. "No," she stated. Sage turned and hopped down from the wagon, parting the ponies ahead of her like magic as she headed for the edge of the crowd. "No! You can't do this!" Sage stopped and turned back to face her. "I'm sorry, Moon. But, I can't do this anymore... Now it's your turn." With an apologetic look, she turned her back to Moon and continued on. "But I never asked for a turn!" Moon stood in despair, watching as Sage stopped next to Jade, who seemed unsettled. Had there been crickets in the crowd, they would be chirping. Moon stood on the wagon, looking fearfully out at the townsponies, all of whom were eyeing her expectantly. She raised a hoof. "Give me a minute here." She sat and ran her hoof along the headband. How could Sage do this to her? Although she was silent, the townsponies held their vigil, as if in mourning for the retired leader. They waited for her first move, every eye focused, every ear alert. Moon spotted Snowglobe, who stood on the tips of her hooves. The gray mare smiled and nodded at her, a silent gesture of encouragement. Dusty was in the crowd as well, his face reflecting shock and disbelief. It was now or never. Moon took a firm stance and looked out at the crowd. "Okay... Apparently I'm supposed to lead you ponies." She sighed. "I don't know much about leading, so bear with me. "Something you all need to know: I used to be a pediatrician. I never planned on, or wanted to do this, but Sage left me in charge. And by Celestia, I'll try my best. Now if I'm going to be leading you ponies, you need to know who I am... My name is Blue Moon, formerly of Phillydelphia." She paused. "Now, I may not know much about running a settlement." She levitated the shotgun up to her side. "But there are some things I do know—Staying alive, guns, zombies..." She worked the slide on the shotgun. "And how to kill them." The effect was of her desire. One pony stomped their hooves on the ground, closely followed by two more, then five. In less than a moment, every pony on the street was whooping and cheering for her. Moon smiled lightly. "I should have totally run for elementary class president back in Phillydelphia," she muttered. Raising a hoof, she quelled the cheering. Who knew winning the heart and minds of so many ponies was so easy? "We need to deal with the problem at hoof!" She gestured roughly to the barricade. "There's a lot of hungry zombies out there, and a lot of soon-to-be-hungry ponies in here. We need to do something about it. Now obviously, we don't have enough ammo to shoot every one, so I need ideas." A pink mare near the back raised a hoof. "A distraction maybe? if we could get a pony to—" Moon silenced her with a shake of her head. "No. I'll never allow something like that. Think transportation." "Well, we've got wagons," a green buck piped up. "You think you can pull a wagon faster than a zombie!?" called another rudely. Moon nodded. "He's right. Wagons won't do." Then from, the back of the crowd, Dusty raised his hoof. "How about a train?" * * * "Wake up!" a gruff voice commanded "Gimme' a minute," Willow groaned, rolling over to put her back to the voice. "Willow," she heard Sunny whisper from a little ways away. "Just get up." "Come on," another unknown voice growled. It was followed by a shuffling of hooves and creak of metal. Willow flicked her ears, but didn't move. Everything hurt, more specifically, her whole middle section. Her limbs felt fine, but every movement sent long shivers of pain up her belly. Willow associated the feeling with that of drinking kerosene, a drunken party trick she had once attempted that had ended in a hospital hooked to a stomach pump. Those had been her more invincible years. She had learned two things that night. One was that if it was combustible, it was not meant to be taken internally, which should have been common sense at the time. And that stupidity and hard cider did not mix. Without warning, her entire body was racked with searing pain as pressure was applied to the wound, still was not fully healed from the potion. She screamed and, on reaction, threw a forehoof back. It collided with something soft, and the pain immediately subsided. Now angry, she opened her eyes and sat up. She blinked, noting the numerous rifles trained on her head. The stallion she had struck glared angrily as he climbed to his hooves, blood running from both nostrils. Taking in her surroundings, Willow recognized the cage from last night, now lit brightly by the early morning sun. Sunny and Candy sat off to one side of the tent, both shackled at the hooves. Slowly, WIllow pushed herself to her forehooves, trying to ignore the rifle barrels trained on her head. She kept her movements slow and predictable, not keen to be shot again. "Don't shoot," she lulled to the unblinking ponies such as one would to a scared animal. "I'm not going to try and eat you or anything." The stallion she had clobbered took his place in line, ears folded as he looked around at his comrades, who seemed to find his ordeal rather amusing. "Mare got your tongue?" one joked cruelly. The stallion shook his head confusedly. "Her hoof hit me like a train." Willow bowed her head to him. "Sorry. You really shouldn't have poked me there." The commander, whom she had met yesterday, entered the tent. He stomped officially to the center to nod at his officers. "Get her out of here," was his stiff command. The ponies barring her way moved and Willow started forward, favoring one leg over the other due to her injury. One of the ponies went to shunt her forward and she turned on him with a snarl. "I can walk myself!" she spat, causing the stallion to jump back. He stumbled to a safe distance and trained his rifle on her. "Yeah, point your gun at me," the leered before turning away and continuing forward. The commander smiled at Willow, but not in a good way. "You're a strange mare," he said idly. "Why, she growled, stopping in the middle of the tent, her companions a few feet away. "Because your crappy shooting didn't kill me? Or is it because you aren't able to beat me in a pissing contest?" She glared in triumph as the commander froze, his mind working a mile a minute. Not much to her surprise, the stallion's hoof flashed up and struck her across the muzzle. Trying her best not to cry out or wince in pain, Willow continued to glare into his amused face. He swung again, this time striking her in the brow. She held her glare, even as a trickle of blood ran from a cut on her head and into her eye. The commander grinned smugly. "Oh, playing tough are we?" he motioned to two silent ponies on the right. "Cuff her." He turned back to Willow. "Don't worry, I went through your bag and found your "Antidote." I don't know what it is, and frankly, I don't care. But it's going with you and your friends in a box to Baltimare, where our best scientists will analyze both it and you. Willow fidgeted as the two ponies cuffed her. She held her eyes on the commander, expression cool. Sunny and Candy watched nervously. "I hope all the REA isn't like you," she said rudely. "Because if they are, Equestria is so screwed. The commander just shrugged. "I run things my way. For all I know, the next REA official you meet is going to kiss your boo-boos better and give you a cookie and milk. Here, we do things my way, and that's how it is." The mare whom had helped Willow last night poked her head in the tent. "Sir," she said quietly, throwing a quick eye at Willow. "The skywagon is ready." The commander nodded. "Good. Get those ponies and their junk on board, and then set for Baltimare. Let it be their mess. I don't want a thing to do with this devil mare and her friend the deserter." The yellow unicorn nodded. "Yes sir." She gestured with a hoof for the prisoners to follow. Sunny and Candy shuffled over to meet the mare at the exit. Willow shot one last glare at the commander before following them. Willow tried to cross the camp with as much dignity as possible as the yellow mare lead them to the skywagon, which wasn't much—not with all the rifles trained on her and the way she had to shuffle in the hoofcuffs. Not with the uniformed officers that flanked she and her friends on either side. She shuffled forward and pressed her way in between Sunny and Candy. The orange pegasus walked with his head aloft and wings partially flared, feathers ruffled. Candy on the other hoof, walked with her head low, her mane obscuring most her face. Hiding her face was not all too effective though, for her red and white striped mane was a dead giveaway to her fellow soldiers. "Is that Cane?" WIllow hear a heard a watching stallion whisper to another. "Yeah," was his friend's reply. "Definitely... I wonder what she did." "Things are looking pretty grim," Sunny muttered, shooting Willow a sideways glance. "Yeah..." Willow rolled her eyes and spoke in mock surprise. "Who knew that Candy would accidentally hoof us over to a power-hungry sociopath." THe yellow unicorn mare led her around a corner towards a waiting skywagon. "Do you think all of the army is like this?" Sunny fretted. Willow shook her head, looking down at her hooves. "I don't think they are. I've been around the army before all this. They're Equestrian's army, not a bunch of rogues with guns. It'll be better in Baltimare... you'll see." While Willow was reassuring Sunny, she found herself not knowing whether her words were true, but hoping they were. The pegasus sighed. "I sure hope so." The wagon they were led to was similar to the one they had flown here on. Only this one had no windows, except for two in the very front, and ran about three feet shorter. "A prison wagon," Candy muttered under her breath. "Is this our load to Baltimare?" a blue unicorn mare asked, stepping down out of the wagon. The yellow one nodded. "Yep." A yellow earth pony emerged next. "Well, get them loaded up then," he said impatiently. Willow had no idea how she managed to hold her tongue as she was shunted into the wagon behind her friends. Upon entering, she was lead to the back of a wagon, where a set of bars had been fitted, creating a small holding cell. Willow fought the urge to block the cell door as the blue unicorn swung it closed. The bars fell in place with a clank and the latch was set, inoperable from the inside. She could see why it was called a prison wagon. The back five feet of the craft was no more than a cage with soft-hard cushions on either side, while the front provided two, much more cushioned seats for the captors. The yellow earth pony stallion trotted to the front wall and rapped three times with a forehoof. With a lurch, the wagon started forward. Unable to see due to the lack of windows, WIllow had to reply on the churning in her gut to tell her that they were moving. Willow did not know for how long she rode in silence. She had no sense of time without the view of the sun. It had been a while—certainly long enough for her to get bored. "I'm so sorry' Candy whispered from the very back of the cell, where she hid in the semi-darkness. "I never knew... I never thought..." "It's best you keep quiet right now, Candy." Willow said warningly. "I don't want to end up saying something I'll regret later." Candy opened her mouth, then closed it again. With a sniff, she hung her head and sobbed lightly. Willow looked away and uncomfortably tugged at her hoofcuffs; they were really starting to annoy her. "Take it easy on her," Sunny said flatly from the ground where he lay. "She meant good." "Shut up!" Snapped the stallion from the front of the wagon. "You're prisoners, that means you don't speak!" Willow shook her hoofcuffs, filling the wagon with an obnoxious jingle. "And stop with the chains," he added. "It's annoying." With a roll of her eyes, WIllow stood up and placed her hooves on the bars. "Why don't you take them off me?" she asked innocently. "I think they're pretty annoying too." It was the blue mare's turn to speak. "Are you joking?" she scoffed. "we're not taking your cuffs off." "Look," Willow said bargainingly. "Take the cuffs off please, or I'll take them off." The uniformed mare raised an eyebrow. "Is that a threat?" Willow shook her head. "No, I am just telling you that if you don't take these cuffs off, I'll do it myself." "Good luck," she laughed. "Those are quarter inch steel chains." "Willow," Sunny said slowly. The pegasus was lying on his back and staring up the the ceiling, legs splayed and wings unfurled. "Don't." She looked down at him. "No. I told her to take them off, and she won't." She gave the chain binding her forehooves a tug, testing the metal. "So I'll do it because these things are annoying me." Raising her forehooves to her she bit down on the chain and turned her head to clamp down on it with her molars. The REA ponies watched with amusement as she ran her jaws in a small circle, grinding the chain. She gave one hard bite, and a tug in either direction with her forehooves and the chain snapped in the center link. The blue unicorn's jaw dropped. "Did you just—" she turned in disbelief to the stallion."She just broke the cuffs." He blinked. "Well... put a new pair on her then." Having rolled onto her back to gnaw at the shackles on her rear hooves, Willow snapped the second pair. She rolled to a sitting position and shot a warning glare at the two ponies. "You put a new pair on me and I'll just break them again." "Please don't," Sunny groaned from the floor. "She is one-hundred percent serious." "She's supposed to be a doctor?" the blue mare asked the stallion beside her, who only shrugged. "Do me a favor," WIllow said, fighting a yawn and curling herself into a ball. "Wake me up when you're done being so uptight." "How far is it to Baltimare?" she heard Sunny ask. "Far enough to get us out of the desert," the mare replied. "Thank Celestia for that." "You ever seen a tree, desert pony?" the stallion asked, his gaze fixed on Sunny. "Yeah!" the pegasus replied defensively. "Of course I've seen a tree." "How are you still alive anyways?" the uniformed stallion mused dangerously. "What makes you so special?" Willow sat up intent to see the uniformed stallion's motives. The mare shot the stallion a look. "Don't," she said with annoyance. He brandished a dismissive hoof at her. "Oh it's nothing. I'm just making small talk." To Sunny. "Go on, tell me. I'm curious." "Apart from being immune?" Sunny asked sarcastically, placing a thoughtful hoof on chin. "And apart from escaping Desert Sage alive through underground tunnels, and then hiking through the desert to Appleoosa. Then being caught by a bunch of sociopathic ponies in uniforms." He looked to the yellow stallion. "Let me think." Willow smiled. Maybe she was starting to rub off on the pegasus. That sarcasm had been worthy of her own standards. The smile wiped from the yellow stallion's face faster than water off a duck. He fixed his gaze on Sunny and stepped forward threateningly. "Are you immune to bullets, smart one?" "Back off," his comrade warned, most likely knowing he wouldn't listen. Sunny shifted his position and Willow could tell from his body language that he already regretted speaking. She refrained from jumping at the stallion right there and then. If a pony wanted to pick on her, it was fair game, but not her friends. The yellow pony moved closer, poking the barrel of his carbine through the bars and training it on Sunny. "Let's just say for a minute that you were trying to escape." He smiled. WIllow heard the audible click of the safety catch. That was all it took to set her on him. He was threatening and Sunny and it set her blood boiling. Before anypony could react, she was on her hooves and lunging towards the bars. The cocky stallion made to step back, but misjudged her speed. Catching the end of his carbine's barrel in her mouth, she tugged him towards her until his face smashed against the cell. "Hey!" he yelled, trying to pull free. "Stop it!" He lunged for the firing bit, but Willow was a second faster. She yanked the barrel left just as a shot rang out. The steel in her mouth grew hot, but she kept her teeth tightly fastened. Now even more angry than before, she yanked hard on the barrel and was rewarded with a crack. The stallion screamed in pain as he was smashed against the bars. "Omph gahlsh!" she yelled giving another tug. With a lurch, the barrel tore free of the carbine and Willow flew back to land on Sunny. The yellow stallion stepped hurriedly back, coat red and bleeding in places where he had been pulled against the bars. "Shoot her!' he bellowed to the mare beside him. "Shoot that freak!" He took the bit in his mouth, but Willow only smiled, knowing that the barrel in her mouth had destroyed the firing mechanism. "No," the blue mare said angrily. "You asked for that." He turned to her, looking on the verge of angry tears. "That was an unprovoked attack on a uniformed officer!" "She was protecting her friend!" Blue shouted back. "Now cut the crap! Just because the commander's gone crazy doesn't mean you can too." Willow rolled off of Sunny and spat out her prize, watchig as it clattered to the floor. "Sorry about that," she apologised, sounding the exact opposite of sorry. "Thanks," Sunny said quietly, directing his eyes to his hooves. Willow reached over and messed up his mane, trying to ignore the bickering of the two REA ponies in the front. "I wouldn't let anypony shoot you but me." Sunny smiled. "That actually sounds pretty good." he made a quick movement for her mane, but she batted his hoof away before he could reach her. "That's because I'm a pony you can trust." Sunny met her gaze. "You really are." Something in the pegasus' gaze made her feel uncomfortable for the first time in ages and she hurriedly looked away. "Let's hope we catch a break break in Baltimare. I don't know how many more things I have to break before they put me in a straightjacket." 


	11. Chapter 11

"Do you all remember the plan?" Moon leveled her gaze with Dusty and the two, formal REA pegasi, which she now knew as Copper and Streak. The red one sporting a dirty, golden-brown mane and tail was Copper; the purple one with the white mane was Streak. Mind drifting off on a distant track, Moon wondered if that was even the purple pegasus' real name. She was a wagon puller after all—Streak wasn't all too original. "Sure do," Dusty responded cheerfully. He rubbed his chin. "If ah recall correctly, we fly to the train yard, take the train, an' don't die an' shoot zombies." Moon felt the beginnings of a smile and fought to keep a straight face. She suddenly remembered something she had been meaning to ask. "So why are you taking Snowglobe again?" Dusty grinned. "Because that mare can fix anything with nothing more'n a wrench and her own wits. She might not like guns all too much, but she's one smart pony." "Oh, why thanks, Dusty," came the cheeky voice of Snowglobe as she descended the stairs to the center room, taking the pegasus by surprise. Dusty turned towards her, blushing slightly. "There you are," he declared. "Here I am," she returned, reaching the group of four ponies and shrugging off her saddlebags, which hit the floor with the jingling of metal. "Tools?" Moon motioned towards the bags. "Yep," said Snowglobe, sitting down and casting a casual eye around the room. "Easy on the weight now," Dusty warned the unicorn. " Ah'm the one that has to fly you to the trainyard. From what ah was told, it may be some distance to the west." Snowglobe examined herself skeptically. "Weight," she mused. "No, no," Dusty added hurriedly. "Ah mean, weight in the bags. Your body's fine..." He hesitated, cocking his head to one side. "In fact, ah think you might be a little bit underweight." Moon whistled at the two, unable to help herself. Dusty jumped, and turned an even brighter shade of red, while Snowglobe just shot a glare. Copper snorted and turned away. "You think your funny!" Snowglobe said heatedly, but keeping a joking tone in her voice. Moon shrugged. "Sort of. I think it's funny to be able to turn Dusty red whenever I want to." She turned to her pegasus friend. "Like the time you saved me from myself back at the hospital." Dusty was now inventing whole new colors to blush. "Now don't you ever bring that up again!" Feeling rather cheerful—and a bit cocky despite the urgent situation—Moon turned to Snowglobe with a teasing grin. "Face it girl, I got all the game." The gray mare stood up. "Oh ho!" Moon smiled evilly. "Oh, don't worry. You have plenty of game... it all just goes the other way." Snowglobe wasn't smiling anymore. She pushed herself forward and sprang at Moon. Although her face read angry, her eyes sparkled with laughter. Moon reared up to meet the mare and the two of them crashed to the floor. She struggled as Snowglobe tried to wrap her hooves around her neck. With a push, Moon rolled them over, putting her on top. Dusty had been right; Snowglobe really didn't weigh very much. The gray mare was much lighter than Moon was herself. The strange thing was, Snowglobe didn't appear scrawny or small; she was just light. Moon was sure she had the mare pinned. What she did not expect was the feeling of Snowglobe's hooves on her belly, near her hind legs. With a heave, the gray mare launched Moon two feet into the air. She flailed her hooves for a moment before crashing back to the wood floor. In a second, Snowglobe was on her. Moon tried to fight back, but soon found herself pinned on her back, Snowglobe looking down at her triumphantly. Snowglobe rested on Moon's belly, forelegs braced at the blue mare's sides and her front hooves on her belly. She leaned in close to Moon and smiled. "What was that you were saying?" Moon laughed once, breathing heavily. "I'm not sure... something about you managing to pin me down despite how light you are?" Snowglobe shrugged, tightening her grip as Moon tried to pull away. "I grew up with three older brothers." Moon rolled her eyes. "Well that explains a lot." She turned to look sideways at the three pegasi who were still in the room. All three watched with mixed emotions of laughter and amusement. When they spotted her eyes on them, all three ponies turned away, suddenly becoming much more interested with something just out of sight. Looking back to Snowglobe, Moon leered back, noting the mare's face suddenly much closer to her own. "What are you doing?" Snowglobe rolled her eyes to the left, then right. "Doing what?" Moon squirmed uncomfortably. "You're a little close." Snowglobe loosened her grip and lifted her head. "Sorry," she apologised. Both mares stared at one another, neither speaking. "That headband works really well for you," Snowglobe said after a moment, breaking the silence. Moon chuckled awkwardly, raising a hoof to run it across the strip of fabric. "Yeah..." She heard the sound of approaching hoofsteps a moment before Brick trotted casually into the room. The large stallion froze, eyes probing the two mares on the floor. He seemed to hit the rewind button on himself and reversed direction, leaving the way he had come. Moon looked up at Snowglobe. "You can probably get off me now." Snowglobe, who was still eyeing the spot Brick had disappeared, jumped. "Right! Sorry." She released her grasp and sprang nimbly to her hooves. Moon climbed to her hooves, trying to act as casual. She had seen something in Snowglobe's eyes and she didn't know whether to feel unsettled or just giggle. Making for the corner of the room, she retrieved her saddlebags and shotgun. She didn't really even know why she carried saddlebags. She hardly ever carried anything other than ammo in them, and her shotgun even had a spot to store shells on the left side. More or less, she just used the strap on the left bag to hold her shotgun. What she needed to find herself was some sort of holster. The three pegasus ponies who had watched the ordeal left out the front door, trying to hold down smiles. Taking their lead, Snowglobe retrieved her bags and did the same. With work to be done, Moon followed them, falling in stride beside the gray mare as they left the house and emerged out into the hot desert sun. Outside, the street was crowded with ponies. To Moon, it appeared the entire town was out here, which would only make her job all the easier. Moon trotted up to the three pegasi, who waited right outside the door, and addressed Dusty. "You can leave after I tell them all what you're doing." Looking about, Moon realized the townsponies had noticed their emergence, and were muttering anxiously to one another. Making head, she started forward, offering a friendly greeting to a group of foals as she passed. Reaching the wagon where she had been so previously given her unwanted leadership, she leapt up to the elevated surface and took stance. There was no need to call; the townsponies had already gathered around, every eye looking up at her expectantly. Sage and Jade sat by one another a ways off, saved from the blaring sun by a storefront awning. "Okay!" she called, quelling any chatter that still remained. "Here's the plan. I've been doing some research, and from what I have learned, there is a trainyard a ways to the west of here; this is our escape. Now my friend here, Dusy," she motioned towards the light-blue pegasus who floated above the crowd, "happens to be an experienced trainpony. A small team of pegasi are going to fly to the railyard, and drive us back a train. That's how we're going to get out of here, everypony. Even zombies can't stop a train." "Even if we do get out of here on a train," said an older mare at the front. "Then what?" Moon shook her head. "I don't know. I have absolutely no idea what we're going to do once we get out of here. All I know, is that we die if we stay here." "Hey Moon!" Dusty called suddenly. "Ah'll let you keep talkin', but we're takin' off!" Moon waved her hoof at him. "Well don't let me keep you waiting. Go get us a train!" Dusty dropped back to the ground next to Snowglobe. They exchanged a glance and Dusty motioned for Copper and Streak. With a single flap of his wings, Dusty lifted himself into the air and over Snowglobe. Fastening all four hooves around the mare, he lifted her from the ground, and they were off. Moon focussed back on the ponies awaiting her word. "I don't know when they'll be getting back; it could be four hours, it could be a day, but we need to get ready for when they return. I want everything to go fast and smooth when they pull in. If there is anything you need to bring, leave it on the platform by the tracks." Moon wracked her brain for what else she had already decided. "Food!" she declared. "I want as many apples as you can get from those trees. I also want as much water as we can take. Any container you can find—fill it with water. It's no use to leave supplies behind; we don't know what's ahead... Does everypony understand!?" An assortment of jeers and shouts greeted her ears as the ponies yelled their understanding. A moment later, the group began to break apart. Moon spotted Brick lurking around the side of a building and motioned him towards her. Hopping down from the wagon, she met him halfway. "How are things going?" she greeted cheerfully. He shrugged. Ever since Willow had left, so to speak, the brown stallion had mostly kept out of sight. In fact, today was the first time she had seen him in quite a while. She sighed. "I know it's hard. I can tell how much you miss Willow. " He nodded slowly as she spoke, eyes studying the ground. Moon changed topics. "I need you to do something for me." Brick's ears perked. "I want you to go back to the house and pack everything up. You need to take it and put it on the platform, but keep it separated from the other stuff. Make sure you get what's left of the guns, and what food we have left from the hospital—I think we still have a few dozen cans, but don't let the townsponies see it; there isn't enough to go around and they'd probably start a riot over it. Ponies can only eat apples for so long. Also, you really need to keep those cases with Willow's antidote thing safe. I want them to be the first thing on the train. " Brick nodded firmly and turned to follow up her orders. "One more thing," she added. "You should probably put that gun back on. You're going to get a lot of looks walking around, but I'd feel a whole lot safer knowing we have some firepower." Brick looked back at her, nodded for a second time, then set off down the street. Moon watched him go with a soft chuckle. It used to be only Willow that the stallion would listen to. Maybe some of Willow had rubbed off on her, enough for Brick to listen to her. She had also been spontaneously put in charge of a settlement surrounded by zombies... Maybe he was just trying to give her a break. Now that Brick was no longer in sight, she felt lonely. All of the ponies she knew weren't here—Willow, Sunny, Dusty, Snowglobe... they were all gone. Brick was here, but he never really spoke to her, anypony actually. She was surrounded by ponies she didn't know, who would all heed her words without a third thought of it. Spotting Jade and Sage near the front gate, Moon unconsciously decided to head in their direction. Moon was glad to see ponies bustling to and fro busily, collecting things that would prove useful. One mare was trying to take a whole china cabinet, but was quickly discouraged from doing so by her very tolerant husband. Sage raised a hoof in greeting when Moon neared. "How's it going?" she asked. Moon glared. "Fine, apart from the fact that I'm leader of about sixty ponies and still can't understand why." Sage shrugged. "You seem to be doing okay... better than me." Jade cleared her throat loudly, drawing both mares' attention. "I like the whole train idea, but do you think it'll work?" "I'm not quite sure." Moon ran her hoof unconsciously across the dark-red headband, remembering how it used to look on Sage. "It was Dusty's plan. He said they always keep spare engines in railyards for shunting, or just for storage." She cast a look at Sage. "What's down the line from here anyways?" The turquoise mare rolled her eyes to the upper-left, thinking. "I asked up on it once, talked to an old local. Next down the line is Dodge junction, then there are a few different directions from there." "I was thinking we could try and make it to Baltimare," Moon confided. "Candy said that it was still standing." Sage frowned. "I think that—" There was a loud bang as the front gate shook in its housing, sending little splinters of wood flittering to the ground. "What was that?" Sage squeaked, shrinking back. Jade unfurled her wings and sprang into the air to land on the walkway above. The gate shook again as something charged the other side, causing the pegasus to stumble. Moon galloped to the staircase and scaled it four steps at a time, Sage right on her tail. She skidded to a stop at the railing and looked down. The sight below chilled her blood. Below, a buffalo hammered itself against the gate. It stuck out, a big brown lump in the sea of rainbow shapes pressed against the barrier. Sage groaned from beside Moon. "I've never seen one do this before." Moon levitated her shotgun from her side. "Well, it better stop." She winced as the beast lunged forward again, ramming the gate with its head and shaking the planks below her hooves. Jade flew out over the monster and pulled a low-caliber pistol from her leg holster. She fined down at the buffalo, striking it multiple times in the back and head. To the pegasus' disdain, It didn't even seem to notice it was being shot. Taking aim with her own weapon, Moon fired a buckshot into the top of the beast's head. For better or worse, she caught its attention. With a bellow of rage, it ceased its assault on the gate to glare up at her. To her surprise, and absolute horror, the buffalo sprang into the air with about half the agility of a cat, its front hooves smashing the railing out of the way and crashing to the walkway. Moon cried out, backpedaling frantically as the behemoth growled and snapped at her, hanging from the wall by its front hooves. "I didn't know they could jump!" "Me neither!" Sage yelled back, eyes as wide as saucers. Ejecting the old shell, Moon fired another shot, shredding the left half of the beast's face. Despite the two strong blows, it continued to try and haul itself up, glaring at her with its one remaining eye. Jade landed behind Moon and gave a low shudder. "That thing jumped like it was on a pogo-stick." Trying to slow her breathing, Moon levitated a box of shotgun slugs from her saddlebag and swapped them with the buckshot. She aimed and fired, the recoil nearly knocking the weapon from her magical grasp. Bracing herself, she fired again, and again, and again. Finally, the monster stopped growling and its front hooves stopped churning. It dangled for a second, bleeding onto the walkway, before its hooves slipped and the mangled beast fell from the barrier, flattening some fellow zombies below its bulk. Townsponies had gathered around below, summoned by the gunshots. Moon looked down at them—her front spattered with blood—and smiled reassuringly. "No worries, it was just a buffalo; it's dead now." Moon turned away from them and looked back to the desert beyond. More infected were still on the way. Already, they had a ten foot ring of zombies around the town, and it definitely was not going away. Somehow, Appleoosa had turned into some sort of a zombie beacon, and now they were swarming like moths to a light. "Look out!" Sage yelled suddenly, causing Moon to jump and look frantically around for the cause of the warning. Suddenly, a turquoise shape bear-tackled her and the two mares sailed off the back of the barrier to land painfully in the street. Moon shoved Sage of from atop of her and scrambled to her hooves, wincing at the pain in her back. "What was that for?" she asked angrily, glaring at Sage as she picked herself up. Her question was answered when four gunshots echoed from above. A moment later, Jade blasted by with three scraggly pegasi on tail. The dark pegasus swerved to and fro, beating her wings frantically, trying to keep the zombies behind her from gaining. Sage ran forward, following Jade from the ground. "No!" she hollered to the fleeing mare. "Come back this way!" With surprising agility, Jade corkscrewed herself and turned one-hundred-eighty degrees, back towards Moon and Sage. The sudden movement threw off her pursuers and the three pegasi fought to reverse direction, managing to do so, but not quite as smooth as Jade. Now that the mare was heading back towards them, Moon could see how panicked she really was. Her eyes popped, and a pistol remained clamped in her jaws, the slide locked and clip empty. Suddenly, one of her pursuers lunged forwards and fastened its teeth in her tail. Jade cried out as she was yanked back. "Help!" she screamed, battling the three pegasi in the air, trying to avoid their deadly bite. Moon dashed forward and took aim with the shotgun. She tried to focus on one target, but they were all moving too fast for her to chose. Taking a wild guess, she aimed and fired. The sickening thwack of the slug striking flesh signified she had hit something. One of the pegasi, a blue one, dropped from the sky. Unfortunately, it had not been the one she had intended to hit. The zombie that didn't have its teeth fastened in Jade's tail broke off and dived at Moon from the side, intentions clear. With something similar to a battle cry, Sage bolted forward, and with a spectacular leap, tackled the infected pony right out of the air. Taking careful aim this time, Moon blasted the pegasi attacking Jade. It relinquished its grip and spiraled to the ground, its neck decimated by the slug. Without missing a beat, she swung the twelve-gauge around to the last zombie, which Sage had somehow managed to pin, and sent its head across the dirt. Sage jumped back, startled. She swung her head left and right, mouth agape. "I-I just..."she looked down at her hooves. "I just fought a zombie with my hooves... Am I insane!?" she screamed rhetorically. Jade landed near Sage and examined the teeth marks in her tail with contempt. Moon glared around at the townsponies who had begun to crowd around in worry, having just missed the action. "Somepony watch the zombies!" she called, expressing the churning in her belly as anger. A younger, cherry colored mare broke away from the group and galloped towards the front gate, pulling out a small revolver as she did so. Moon swept her eyes over the twenty or so ponies that still remained in the street. "How many of you have weapons?" She sighed when only ten hooves shot into the air. With a roll of her eyes, Moon turned to Sage. "Go find Brick and tell him never mind on packing the guns, we need to distribute them to these ponies. I think we have like... four rifles and maybe ten mouth-held weapons." Sage nodded and turned to leave, motioning for Jade to follow. "We got a problem!" yelled the red mare from the barrier. "You know how buffalo usually travel in herds!?" * * * "I think I see it!" Snowglobe called, peering down at the jumbles of shapes in the distance. "Ah hope so!" Dusty replied from above. "We only been flyin' for six hours!" The pegasus shifted his grip on Snowglobe and she tensed. "Don't try and drop me again," she warned meekly. "It's not like ah tried to drop you," he responded. "Besides, ah caught you before you hit the ground." "Barely," she sulked. Snowglobe had learned something new today; she really didn't enjoy flying. Now she had two things to avoid, flying and guns. Copper swooped down to fly alongside Dusty. "So what's the plan once we get down there?" Dusty began his descent as she shapes ahead grew in size. "Way ah see it, we find a train, make it work, an' take it down the tracks to Appleoosa." The red pegasus rolled his eyes. "Good plan." Snowglobe scanned the railyard below, searching for anything that could prove useful. A quick examination proved the yard wasn't much. Few buildings stood, apart from an old wooden station near the tracks, and some covered sheds beyond that. Several switches led away from the main line and tracks stretched out behind the station. Parked in a far siding was a row of boxcars, and on an adjacent track, four passenger carriages sat discarded. "Switching station," Dusty said to himself. "Depends. Sometimes yards like this get left full of stock waitin' for the next locomotive, or sometimes they got a yard full of engines waitin' for the next train. Let's just hope we can find ourselves a working engine down there." "I don't see any trains down there," said Streak, causing Dusty to wince at the word 'trains.' "That's because they keep all the engines in covered sheds." Much to Snowglobe's horror, Dusty spared a hoof around her belly to point to a row of four large sheds at the edge of the yard. "Ah'm hopin' there'll be a locomotive in one of those." Snowglobe squeaked and hugged Dusty's other hoof. "Dusty!" she cried. "Oh, shoot!" Dusty hurriedly clasped his leg back to her flank. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. A short descent brought the three pegasi over the building near the tracks. Snowglobe braced herself for the landing, but found her action unorthodox as Dusty set her lightly down on the tar-and-gravel roof. She hugged the ground for a moment, savoring the solid surface. Dusty grinned at her. "Come on now. Flyin' ain't that bad." She gave him a glare. "Yeah, and I don't have wings." She gave the surrounding rooftop a quick glance over. "What building is this" Dusty sauntered to a hatch on the roof and yanked it open. The hinges squealed with protest as the conjured rust was separated. "Rail offices. If there's an engine here, there should be records of it. Best to check here before we go runnin' around the trainyard dodgin' zombies." Snowglobe looked to the low-caliber pistol strapped to her right foreleg and hoped she wouldn't have to use it. Dusy flicked his tail in a motion for Copper and Streak before plunging through the hatch. With a shrug, Copper followed with Streak right behind. Snowglobe edged herself around the hole in the roof, looking down at the three pegasi who peered back up at her. "I don't have wings," she reminded them for the second time today. "Oh yeah," said Dusty. He reared up on his rear hooves. "Well jump; ah'll catch you." She pondered the length of the drop: about seven feet. "Okay, you'd better catch me." Trusting the pegasus fully, she stepped over the edge. Her belly churned at the small drop and she turned over in the air, looking at a square patch of sunlight as she dropped away. There was a sudden deceleration before she found herself looking into Dusty's face as he held her in his forelegs. "Wow, you really are light," he commented. She gave him a roll of her eyes and dropped out of his grasp to land neatly on her hooves. "Thanks." Rolling back on her haunches, she brushed down the hair on her belly that had been ruffled during her flight. She glanced around the room, disliking how dark it appeared. Cheap plastic blinds were drawn over every window and the late-afternoon sun shone brightly through the tiny slits in the plastic sheets. Desks sat haphazardly around the interior of the building, portraying no real order. A snicker drew her away from her examines of the room and over to Copper, who hurriedly wiped a smile from his face. "What's so funny?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow. Copper flicked his ears in minor irritation of having been caught. "Nothing..." He snickered again. "I was just thinking about how fluffy your belly is." Still reared up, Snowglobe looked down at her belly and frowned. "Well... it's nice to know you were thinking about that?" she worded the statement as a question. Streak jabbed Copper in the side with her knee. "I always knew you had a thing for bellies, Copper." He turned angrily to her. "You aren't—" He broke off, springing back and out of the way as a blue mare sailed at them over a desk. Her eyes bled and almost every one of her teeth had been broken. Copper reared up and deflected the zombie, sending it soaring backwards to crash to a desktop, splitting the wooden surface and scattering papers like party confetti. In a second, Copper had his pistol out and trained, but Dusty flashed a hoof in front of his muzzle. "No," he warned. "Ah think the things are attracted to loud noises." The red pegasus spat the weapon back to its holster. "Then what the hay are we supposed to do? Ask it to go away?" The zombie mare picked herself up and gave her head a violent shake, spattering blood across the surrounding walls and floor. With a screech, she rocketed forward again to be knocked away by Copper a second time, who hopped backwards fearfully as the mare snapped at his foreleg. "Well ah don't know!" Dusty snapped back. "But ah don't want more of em' here!" "Well then step up and do something!" returned Copper. "Guys," Snowglobe said quietly as the zombie stumbled back to its hooves. "It's getting up." Dusty turned angrily to Copper. "Ah'm tryin' to think!" The blue mare crept forward, eyes glaring daggers of hate and hunger directly at Copper, who continued to glare back at Dusty. "Hard to think of a way to kill a zombie without a gun, huh?" The zombie lunged and Snowglobe panicked. She snatched the nearest item from a nearby desk—which happened to be a carved steel-and-wood nameplate inscribed with the name, 'A. Sherbert.'—and magically hurled it at the charging mare. With a sickening crunch, A. Sherbert buried itself in the mare's left eye, reducing it to pulp. The zombie ragdolled and crashed to the floor between the two arguing pegasi. Copper looked at the pony on the floor, then up to Snowglobe, mouth half-agape. "Damn, mare." Snowglobe eeped and backed herself in A. Sherbet's desk. She had always known she possessed a higher magical strength than the average pony, but she never thought she'd be able to do... that. Dusty examined the dead pony with a whistle. "You just killed a zombie with a nametag, Snowglobe. I gotta' give you credit for that." Snowglobe tried not to look at the sheen of blood drifting across the hardwood floor. "Let's... let's just go find a train." Strafing the body on the floor, she began trotting around the vintage office for... "Hey, Dusty? What are we looking for again?" Without answering, Dusty made his way over to a file cabinet and pulled open the top drawer. "Yard records," he murmured, rifling through a row of manila folders. Copper and Streak just stood where he had left them, looking around in mild confusion. Dusty slammed the drawer shut after a moment. "Ponyfeathers! There aren't any engines here! We got plenty of old cars, but there's no engines." Snowglobe kicked a chair angrily. So much for that whole plan. "So I take it we're screwed?" With a burst of rage, she aimed her magic at a desk labelled, 'Foremare' and flipped it upside down, scattering papers and quills about. One of the many papers flittered through the air and floated towards Snowglobe. She snatched it, intent on shredding it, but stopped at the sight of an untidy scrawl on the front. Curiously, she turned the paper upright to read it. The letters were large and loopy, and appeared to have been written in a hurry. 'Make sure this letter gets to the Foremare. The locomotive left in shed number three had been assigned to me. I am forced to leave it here for now and do not have time to fill out the proper documentation. A radio transmission came in from canterlot requesting all experienced engineers or ponies with experience in locomotion. There must be something very serious going on in Canterlot because an REA wagon flagged me down from the railside. They requested I ditch the locomotive, on the main line of all places, and accompany them on a flight to Canterlot to aid with an evacuation. The locomotive left in your shed was en-route to a scrapyard in Dodge where it would be decommissioned. If for whatever reason I do not return to retrieve the engine, you can send it down the line to Dodge, where it has been permitted to arrive. ~Gene Bramble "Dusty!" Snowglobe called excitedly. "We have a train!" The blue pegasus lolloped over to her and snatched the paper, eyes skimming it eagerly. "Shed number three," she stated as he read. Dusty frowned at the paper. "It doesn't say what make the engine is..." He shrugged. "Guess we'll just have to find shed number three and see what it is." "Doesn't he seem a little too excited to you?" Streak asked Copper quietly. The red pegasus shrugged and responded quietly. "I guess he really likes trains." Streak nodded. "Of course he likes trains; he's only got part of one as his cutie mark." Dusty led them out of the gloomy office and out into a sunlit trainyard. Rails ran all about, some rusted, some new, and abandoned cars sat, left in the occasional siding. Snowglobe cantered forward to catch Dusty, who was beginning to draw ahead. He looked over as she fell in stride beside him. "Hey," he said. "You ever really worked in an engine?" Snowglobe carefully stepped over a pair of rails, trying to avoid the grease-soaked ties. "No. Everything I know about trains and steam locomotion is one-hundred percent theoretical." He gave her a shrug. "Ah'll show you a thing or two once we're off." He paused, cocking his head. "So ah've been thinkin'; we're gonna' have to hook up some cars to this engine before we take off." He pointed off to a siding. "Ah'd say those four carriages in the far siding, and maybe some boxcars too. We could throw in some of those flatbeds for good measure." "Sounds like a plan." She cast a glance to the two pegasi in their wake. "Things just might be looking up for once." Dusty unfurled his wings and fluttered them excitedly as they approached the shed with a big number three painted on the swinging doors in white, block lettering. "Oh, ah hope it's a Buckwin." He reached up and placed his hooves on the doors. Eyes closed, he gave them a push, whispering under his breath. "Please please please please." The heavy doors parted and Dusty paced forward, eyes still closed. Snowglobe trotted behind him, eyes adjusting to the gloom, Streak and Copper on her tail. With a suspenseful breath, the light blue pegasus opened his eyes. He stared for a second, eyes momentarily glazing over. "Oh, Sweet Celestia..." Snowglobe cocked her head, looking up at the engine. "So how are we... going..." She trailed off. The locomotive in front of her was... big. really big. The monstrous mass of gray, rusted steel stood twelve feet tall and sixty feet long, minus the coal tender. It stretched an average of seven feet wide from buffer to buffer and had definitely seen some better days. The boiler was dented and scratched and the buffers worn. Everything about the engine screamed old. "Whoa," was all she was able to croak. Dusty took a step forward and placed his hoof on one of the driving wheels, which was about the same size as him. "This..." He looked up, craning his neck to see to the top of the engine. "That is not a passenger train." "Well then what the hay is it?" Streak asked, sounding intrigued. Dusty began to pace the length of the engine. "This here's a Big Buck steam locomotive." He paused to balk. "Built to haul large amounts of freight up the Canterlot hill without the need of doubleheading at a sustained speed of fifty miles an' hour." Copper and Streak just looked blankly at one another as he continued. "Weighing in at one million pounds in combination with the loaded tender it was the single largest articulated steam locomotive ever built for commercial use in Equestria..." Snowglobe didn't know if Dusty was horrified, or if he was just so excited he had forgotten to smile. "You okay?" she asked skeptically. Dusty shook his head. "These were deemed obsolete years ago by smaller fleets of lightweight engines... They've been scrapping them for metal... Ah don't think there are many of these left." Snowglobe rapped the side of one of the wheels and winced at the pain in her leg. "Well, can you drive it?" Dusty looked at her and blinked. "Well, yeah... Ah think." He looked over to the cab. "This thing is twice as old as me." Copper trotted to Dusty's side, a curious look on his face. "I thought Equestrian Railroads put little hearts and things like that on all their engines?" Dusty snickered. "They used to a long time ago. Then they just started doing it to passenger trains. This engine wasn't made to look pretty—it was meant to take three-thousand short tons of freight from point A to point B." He chuckled and trotted up to the entrance to the cab, which was about a pony and half just to the bottom deck. A steel staircase ran steeply up either side of the coal tender to allow a semi-easy ascent to the cab. With a suppressed squeal, Dusty climbed the narrow stairs to the cab and Snowglobe figured it was in his best interests for her to follow. Once inside, Dusty darted about the cab, inspecting every detail. He reached the boiler wall and froze, staring at the tangle of knobs, pipes, and gauges. The pegasus hissed under his breath, glaring at one the many gauges just as the other two pegasi entered the cab. "We only have seven thousand gallons of water; that won't do at all." Streak's eyes widened. "Seven thousand gallons? And that's not enough?" Dusty shook his head, oblivious to her skepticism. "Naw, this thing has a twenty-thousand gallon tank." Copper just gave the pegasus mare a nudge. "I think he has it handled on his own." After a moment more, Dusty turned to face them. "Ah think we're good. As far as ah can tell, everythin' checks out. Ah just need some time to fire her up, then we can go pick up the cars and stop at the water tower before we set off." He threw a gesture to the monstrous coal tender. "We have enough coal to get us plenty far. Besides, there isn't any coal here." Looking to Snowglobe next. "Think you could do a quick external check of the engine while ah get the fire goin'?" She blinked. "I really don't know much about—" "Nonsense," he interrupted. "Problems don't really hide on these things; if you see one you'll know." "Fine." Climbing back down from the cab, she started her examines of the machine. Once again, she was awestruck by the sheer size of the locomotive. This took big and made it bigger. She imagined it in comparison to the little pink engines used to haul small passenger trains from Canterlot. This engine alone was as long as four of those in a row; if you added the coal tender then another three would be required to span the full length. It took her a good fifteen minutes to run a full circle of the engine, checking every wheel and axle for signs of wear or fracture. To her keen eye for detail, everything checked out. The engine had acquired its fair share of rust, but other than that, nothing looked wrong. As she climbed back into the cab, Copper passed her with a shovel of coal and threw it into the roaring firebox. Dusty sat in the hotseat mounted at the right side of the cab, fiddling with levers and gauges. He would occasionally mutter to himself, then tap a gauge and give it a nod. A light hiss came from the boiler, echoing eerily around the brick shed. Dusty sat back and smiled. "We've got pressure." He rubbed his hooves together with glee. "Let's go get those cars hooked up." He turned a few knobs and cranked a horizontal lever around with a series of metallic clicks, then grabbed a larger lever protruding from the floor and yanked it back. A sound only describable as a thug roared through the shed and the engine lurched forward. The driving rods clanked and the pistons hissed. Torrents of black smoke surged from the stack like an upside-down waterfall. Dusty jeered and stomped the floor as five-hundred tons of ancient steel crept forward. Another thug roared through the shed, amplified by the blastpipe. Slowly, the engine crept out into the sunlight; the front of the mighty beast shining bright in the afternoon sun. Gigantic billows of thick, black smoke shot fifty feet into the air to be swept off to the right by a light breeze. The monster engine crept into the yard, rivaling everything around in size. Copper wiped a line of sweat from his brow and added another shovel of coal to the firebox. Snowglobe just watched in silent amazement as Dusty brought the locomotive past a switch and cranked the same lever on the floor forward, slowing them. Dusty looked to Streak, who so far had done nothing but observe. "Could you go throw the switch to the siding back there?" he asked. She gave him a fast nod and flared her wings. Springing out of the cab, the mare floated to the ground and set a swift trot to the rear of the tender. She reached the switch for the tracks and pushed her weight on it. With a grinding noise, the tracks switched to the siding containing four worn-out passenger cars. With the swift operation of about six different levers and knobs, Dusty locked the engine into reverse and brought it creeping back. He kept throwing glances out the side of the cab, adjusting the steam as he neared the carriages. At about twenty feet, he cut of steam and eased the break. The engine drifted to a near stop before connecting to the cars with a slight jolt. Snowglobe gave Dusty a smile. "Smooth." He returned the grin, looking like a foal at their surprise birthday party. "Thanks." He set the brake and waited for Streak to set the couplings. The mare disappeared between the tender and the cars and popped out a moment later, waving her hoof in the air. Dusty waved back and set the engine forward, now pulling the four carriages behind. He sat back and looked over at Snowglobe and Copper. "Would you two mind goin' over those cars an' makin' sure that none of the manual brakes are set?" He chuckled. "I doubt it would make much of a difference if they were; this thing would just pull them 'till the wheels busted off then pull them further, but we don't want to do that." Snowglobe hopped up immediately, eager at a chance to help. "Sure." She practically bounced to the back of the cab and tugged Copper after her with her tail. Together, the two climbed the coal tender and scurried their way across the top with the help of a small walkway. Snowglobe hopped down on the steel deck of the carriage and examined the spinning wheel against the railing; the brakes were off for this car. Four more to check. She pushed her way into the old car and assured herself that she had seen better things at a junkyard. This car had a small hallway on her left and several, smaller private rooms to the right. Whole strips of the once-cherry wall paneling were missing or hanging off at odd angles and a few boards were torn up from the floor. Two of the windows were broken and one of the private rooms didn't even have a door. "Nice place," said Copper, falling in beside her. Snowglobe rolled her eyes and trotted further into the car, carefully stepping around the holes in the floor. She could hear the wheels clicking over the track joints below her hooves. By the time they had finished checking the fourth car, Dusty had backed them up to a row of four boxcars. As they emerged out onto the small deck outside the car, Streak was just finishing setting the hitch. "Hey you two," she said teasingly before spreading her wings and taking off, back towards the engine. Copper watched her go with a frown before trotting forward and mounting the ladder to the reddish-pink boxcar. Snowglobe followed and they once again began the task of checking all the brake wheels. Although the brakes on two of the five boxcars had been set, they had still been pulled by the engine before Snowglobe had disengaged them. Dusty hadn't been kidding; that locomotive would pull anything, wheels or not. She and Copper sat atop the last boxcar, watching as they drifted towards two flatcars. Snowglobe tilted her head to one side. "Why is he picking up two flatcars?" Copper just shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he figured we'd need some." There was another jolt as the boxcars coupled with the flatcars and both ponies peered down as Slipstream poked around the corner. "Last one," she breathed, finishing the latch, then looking up at the two ponies on the boxcar. "We're good." She gave Copper a smile. "Let's get out of here." There was a tinkling of metal below the closest axle of the flatcar and Slipstream knitted her brows. "What the..." She stooped down to peer under the car. Snowglobe jumped, and nearly fell when a pony screeched from below. Streak fell back and a red unicorn mare followed, it's jaws fastened in the purple mare's throat. Streak fell onto her back and the unicorn released before diving on top and once again fixing its teeth in her neck. Streak delivered a heavy buck to the infected pony's belly and managed to roll it off her. She sprang up and—drawing her pistol—emptied the entire clip into the zombie. The red unicorn stumbled forward a few more steps and fell dead in the gravel. Streak dropped the pistol and turned to look at Copper and Snowglobe, who had sat atop the boxcar dumbfounded. The whole ordeal had only lasted a couple seconds, but that's all it had taken. Streak stumbled, blood pouring from the massive tear in her neck. She swayed left, then right, before flopping into the gravel. Snowglobe readied herself to spring down to help the mare but Copper grabbed her tail and pulled her back. "No!" he said as she tried to pull away. "L-Leave her; she's dead." Snowglobe tried to fight back tears of shock. Just like that... just like that she was dead. One second Streak was alive... the next... Snowglobe scanned the yard to see exactly what she had been loathing to see—movement by a stack of old wheels across the yard. She pointed and Copper tracked her hoof. "Shit," he whispered. He turned and sprinted back along the length of the boxcars, flapping his wings for more propulsion. "Dusty!" he cried, voice cracking. "Get us moving! Go, go! Forward!" The engine started and the cars lurched forward. The sudden movement below her hooves took Snowglobe by surprise and she stumbled, moving her hoof for balance. It was only a second too late did she realize that she had stepped right over the edge, off the back of the boxcar. She screamed, losing her balance completely and falling from the roof. She crashed headfirst into the flatcar below and flopped onto her side. Hurriedly, she scrambled to her hooves but the edges of her vision immediately went black and she collapsed back to the car, blacking out completely. She opened her eyes and groaned. There was a rhythmic clicking from the tracks below. Cautiously, she lifted her head and looked around, feeling like she was about to vomit. The car she was on was now moving along at a swift trot and Copper was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, she stood, her head spinning madly. "Copper!" she croaked. She examined the boxcar but there was no ladder on this side. There was no way she could climb it either; it was about nine feet tall. "Copper, come back!" A drawn out rasp turned her attention to a zombie hurling towards her flatcar. No, check that—the three zombies hurling towards her flatcar, and far across the yard even more. her eyes drifted to the pistol on her inner foreleg. "No," she told herself. No, I don't want— I can't." The three zombies hopped aboard the second flatcar. "Okay, fine." Magically drawing the pistol, she took careful aim and fired... and missed. A bolt of searing pain filled her head at the discharge and she almost dropped the gun. Apparently she had hit her head harder than she had thought. The front creature howled and lunged forward, putting on an extra burst of speed. Snowglobe cringed back, cowering. Suddenly, the zombie tripped and fell between the two flatcars and under the wheels in a spray of blood. She blinked, then laughed once at her amazing luck. The other two skidded to a stop and hopped from the car to land in a tumble. "Yeah!" Snowglobe jeered as they fell back, being overtaken by the train. "I have a train! Beat that shit!" There was a squeal from the engine ahead as the brakes were applied and the flatcar slammed against the boxcar in the couplings. "No!" she cried, voice little more than a squeak. "Nononono! Don't stop! Please pleasepleaseplease no!" She hung her head, letting out a long sigh. "Crap..." She only had one option now—run. "Damn you Copper!" she hollered, tentatively approaching the edge of the car. The zombies behind had realized that the train had slowed, and were once again running for her. She braced herself for the jump and prayed with all of her might to stick the landing. With a small hop, she left the flatcar and hit the ground running in a fairly smooth transition. She set a gallop for the engine, gradually overtaking the slowing boxcars and not daring to look back. By the time she reached the carriages the train had completely stopped. From here, she could see Copper atop the locomotive, which was parked under a large water spout. The red pegasus grasped a rubberized hose in his mouth and pulled open a small hatch on top of the boiler. Snowglobe hacked up a ball of mucus and spat it on the ground as she ran. Every breath was starting to hurt now, every hoofstep a jab in the side. She had never been much for endurance. "Dusty..." she panted to herself. "Why in Celestia's name... why did you stop the train? Forget the water... we're going to die." To her disdain, three more zombies burst out of the yard office and charged at her from ahead, forcing her to sling left to the third passenger car. She mounted the steps and barged through the door into the car. Slamming the door behind her, she reared up and placed her weight against the door. Three hard impacts to the other side nearly knocked her over and sent a splintering crack up the center of the wooden door, breaking the small window near the top. "Damn." Her legs burned like fire; running had never been her thing. Drawing the pistol again, Snowglobe hopped away and unloaded six shots into the door. At this range, it was near impossible to miss. She splattered the red one's brain across the car behind and sent the green mare falling away in a tumble. Two more took their fallen comrades' places and Snowglobe dropped them too. The last one charged the door and speared the thin wood on its horn, forcing the whole door into the room with it. Snowglobe backpedaled as the door-on-a-horn barreled towards her between the rows of seats. She worked the trigger of the pistol but the mechanism gave a teasing click and jammed. Cursing the inferior weapon, she hurled it at the zombie, only to have it bounce off the door. If she didn't know any better, she'd say the zombie had purposefully armoured itself. "I've had about enough of this!" she suddenly screamed, overtaken by a surge of anger. She charged forward and planted both forehooves on the door. She bucked and she kicked, and the zombie pushed and snarled. Somehow, she prevailed, and with an almighty heave, pushed the zombie backwards. Shoving both the zombie and the mangled door back out of the carriage, she gave one final kick that sent it tumbling to the gravel. "And don't come back!" Somewhere deep inside her, a filly squealed with delight. She had always wanted to use that line. Giggling like a schoolfilly, she trotted back into the car and made her way for the engine. A moment later, she had passed through the first car and scaled the coal tender. Dusty sat in the hotseat, checking the water gauge as it gradually rose. The pegasus turned and gave her a smile. "Ah was gettin' worried. Ah thought you got into some trouble when ah heard the gunshots." A bolt of anger rushed through her and a hoof lashed out, smacking the pegasus across his smug face. "You nearly killed me!" She stomped back and forth across the cab, venting. "I had to kill four zombies, with a gun!" Dusty rubbed his face. "Ow... Look, we had to get water; speakin' of which." He peered at the gauge. "We're good Copper!" he yelled. "Close up the tank and get back in here." Snowglobe remembered something rather important, the cursed herself for not having it at the front of her mind. "We have to go! There's like, a hundred zombies out there!" Dusty snickered. "You're funny girl." He hung his head out the side of the glassless window, looking back. "There's no way there's a hundred zombies out..." He trailed off, jaw dropping open. "Oh shoot!" he bellowed, withdrawing from the window. "There's like a hundred zombies out there!" He reached over and disengage the brake. With lightning speed, he worked two knobs on either side of the boiler then jammed the throttle forward. A hiss escaped the boiler and the pistons heaved. Slowly, the engine crept forward. Copper landed on the coal tender and rushed into the cab. "Dusty, you gotta' get this thing going faster! They're gonna' catch us!" Dusty gave him a hard glare. "You can get out an' push if you want." He gave his head a shake. "This thing's as big as a buildin'; it takes a while to get moving." He peered at one of the many gauges. "Say, where's Streak?" Copper just gave Dusty a shake of his head. "Dang," Dusty whispered. "I was just startin' to like that mare." The horde reached the engine in a multicolored wave of screams and grunts. They tried to hop at the ponies in the cab, but failed to reach. One decided it wanted to start a fight with one of the wheels and lost its head in the driving rod. Dusty drew Valediction on a pink mare scaling the steps and sent her back down in a trail of blood. "Get off my train," Dusty growled low in his throat before blasting another. No others tried to climb into the cab and soon enough the engine was moving faster than they could run. They fell back, snarling and snapping and giving dirty zombie looks. "Yeehaw!" Dusty jeered, reaching up and sounding the whistle long and loud. The deep, ghostly chime of the whistle filled the early twilight air. Dusty blinked. "That is the scariest whistle ah have ever heard." Snowglobe had to agree as Dusty drew the cord again. The whistle was composed of six different chimes, all ranging from low and deep to high and piched. The six together created something Snowglobe could only describe as creepy. Dusty sounded the whistle again and her hair stood up on end. "So, how long 'till we reach Appleoosa at this rate?" asked Snowglobe. She stood still, admiring the power beneath her hooves and the rhythm of the locomotive. Dusty frowned. "Well, the track curves around, so ah'd say about five hours." Snowglobe hung from the cab to watch the rails ahead. "Appleoosa here we come!" * * * "Where is that train!" yelled a frantic pony from the night. "It should be coming," cried another. Moon peered through the darkness, eyes trying to find purchase on the moonless night. The sky above had a claustrophobic feel, acquired from clouds that seemed of unnatural origin. Small lanterns had been lit along the length of the road up to the front gate, but the feeble circles of yellow light reached no more than a few yards. The warm night air was filled with the raucous screams and calls of zombies. Something was different with the zombies; they seemed faster, more violent than before. It was as if they could sense something, smell the fear of living ponies in the air. Worst of all, the only way she could distinguish one from her comrades was the color of their eyes. If you saw yellow, you shot it. A drawn out scream from one of her own echoed through the night, followed by a dozen gunshots. "East wall!" a pony called. Moon eyed Brick as he emerged onto the porch of the house they had used for their stay. He had mounted two high-beam lights to either side of his body and the white cones cast by them lit up wherever he turned. "Brick!" she yelled. The two lights turned on her and she looked away before she could lose the night vision she had obtained. "East wall, let's go!" He raced to her side and she motioned him beside her with her tail, then they were off. Moon had to admire the stallion's innovation as she ran by his side. He had the chaingun mounted to the right of his back, and the ammo container on the left. The feed belt ran over his back to the weapon. This combined with the two high-beam flashlights that shone his path proved for some very unlucky zombies. They veered left and shot between two buildings. Brick's lights lit the sight ahead as she charged the wall. Six townsponies stood upon the barricade ahead, dodging and bucking and shooting anything that moved. But even as the six worked as one, they were being overwhelmed. More zombies were hurling themselves over the barrier than they could knock back. A green earth pony burst out of a building and fell in beside Moon. "They're scaling the walls!" she cried, firing her battle saddle without even slowing to aim. "Things are getting really nasty out here!' Moon screeched a battle cry and charged right into the heat of the mess. She raised her shotgun and sent the intestines of a red zombie across the ground like confetti from a party popper. Charging for the stairs, she scaled to the top of the barrier and blasted two more trying to creep over, away from the fighting six further down. "Push them back!" she hollered. Brick's weapon lit up the night from the ground and everything caught in the beams of his flashlights was chopped down like sandcastles in the stream of a firehose. Moon ran to a white stallion's aid a little further down. He had since run out of ammo and was now using the rifle as a blunt instrument. He levitated it in front of him, swinging and smashing anything to come near. A zombie pulling itself over the railing got a snout-crushing applebuck to the face and went sailing back down to land in the sea of multicolored shapes below. Blood stained his white coat and a long gash adorned his left flank. A zombie ran at him from behind, but Moon tracked it with the shotgun and blew its front legs off; another shot finished it. The stallion turned to her, eyes wild. "Thanks," he said in a gasp. Together, the both of them managed to hold their small section while Brick and the green mare helped the other six ponies further down. Then, by some sort of anomaly, everything stopped. The zombies stopped growling, ponies stopped shooting, and the night went a near-perfect quiet. An eerie whistle filled the night, echoing off the ridge far away to return an even ghostlier sound than before. The sound cut the thick air like a hot knife through butter. Moon looked to the sound. There in the distance, shone a single, amber lamp. The whistle sounded again, long and mournful. The silence spell broke and the night once again filled with sounds of chaos. "Yes!" Moon jeered. "That's the train!" A different thought struck her; they had to somehow get to the tracks and hold from there. It would have to be a fast stop. She raised her head to the sky and screamed. "Everypony get to the platform!" Moon cursed; she had warn the ponies watching the front gate. Determination set, she sprinted off. "Get to the platform!" she yelled to the ponies along the barrier as she passed, shotgun aloft, destroying anything in the way. The white stallion ran beside her, wincing in pain at every bound. Moon gave him a sideways look. "What are you doing?" He shook his head at her. "I don't have much time left. I'm going to help who I can before I die." Moon remembered the cut on the pony's flank; he was infected. She swallowed a lump in her throat and pushed on, trying to focus on running. "I'm sorry... Thanks for the help." Panic was starting to set in. The entire perimeter was disintegrating. Zombies climbed the railing behind her and gave chase. She fired blindly backwards, not even knowing if she were hitting anything. Any time spent not shooting was used to load more shells into the weapon. Twelve ponies were still holding the front gate, but they weren't going to last much longer; Jade and Sage were among them. Their only light were two lanterns atop the wooden gate, and as Moon watched one was kicked over by a zombie and burst open, lighting the whole top of the gate aflame. Moon leapt from the wall and landed on all fours. "The train's here!" she yelled, charging up to the group. "Retreat! Get to the platform!" The slide on Sage's pistol locked back and she spit it angrily back into the holster. "I'm out!" she called. From here, Moon could see Brick and a large group of ponies already waiting on the platform. Suddenly, the tracks seemed a lot further away than they had been earlier. They were literally on the other side of town. "Fall back!" she repeated, managing to get the adrenaline fueled ponies' attention. Back at the tracks, the monster locomotive ploughed a trough through the surrounding horde of zombies, reducing them to no more than rancid fertilizer. The steamer smashed through the outer barrier in an explosion of wood and squealed into the town, undercarriage alight with sparks from the wheels grinding on the tracks below. Ponies began to load the locomotive before it had even fully stopped. Moon took a second to balk. She had never seen an engine of its size before. It was massive! The whistle sang long and slow as the train came to a complete stop. There was an almighty crash from the front gate as it burst open. A buffalo charged straight through, into the town, surrounded by at least a fifty normal infected. Townsponies scattered, falling back, but it was too late; they were in major trouble. The white stallion whom had stuck with Moon to the front gate lunged forward instead of back. "Run!" he yelled, voice shaking. "All of you, get the hay out of here!" He levitated a bundle of dynamite from his saddlebag and lit the fuse with his horn. He waited for the surrounding ponies run free, then charged with a battle cry devoid of fear. He flung himself headlong into the wave of death, butting the first out of the way and bucking the second. Then he was gone, trapped beneath a mass of writhing bodies. Moon ran, ran for her life, using the moment of time the unnamed stallion had leant them all. There was a ground-shaking explosion behind her that momentarily lit up the night and a moment later it began to rain ponies. Moon found herself running in the middle of the pack. Jade and Sage were on her right along with a few others. A pegasus dropped from the sky and tacked a blue mare to the ground; nopony slowed to help as she was overwhelmed by the horde giving chase. Moon fired backwards, not knowing what she was hitting but knowing that she was hitting something. She grasped one of the kerosene lamps in the street as she passed and hurled it backwards. The pot shattered and lit the ground and zombies by the dozen aflame. They were only a ways past halfway when the whistle of the engine sounded and the pistons began to hiss. "Come on!" Dusty called from the cab. "Ah can't sit here any longer!" Moon watched as the stallion she remembered by the name of Stacks cried out in horror. A buffalo in chase leered forward and fastened its jaws around his whole middle. The green stallion howled in pure agony as he was lifted into the air in the powerful jaws. The buffalo bit down and his whole middle collapsed with a crunch. Blood poured from the young stallion's mouth and his eyes popped. Moon looked away with tears in her eyes. Her stomach churned and she lost what little food she had on the ground. Just ahead, Brick took stance from the platform in front of the creeping train, braced for accuracy and weapon primed. "Move!" Moon ordered with a motion to Brick. The remaining ponies took her word and yielded to the left or right. One tripped and was gone the next second. The roar of the chaingun filled the air as Brick let loose, strafing the near-solid wall of zombies. Moon skidded to a stop beside the brown stallion while the others surged past, boarding the moving train. Wherever Brick shone his lights, dozens of yellow eyes glared back. Moon fired out into the crowd and felt a deep satisfaction as two zombies were cut down. A buffalo with a single, green hoof hanging from the side of its mouth charged, but dropped under both Moon, and Brick's fire. They held ground against seemingly impossible odds, hacking through zombies like they were weeds in a field. "Come on," she said urgently, motioning towards the cars behind, which were now scooting along at a fast trot. Brick ignored her. "Brick!" Frantically, she butted her head against his flank in an effort to get him to move, but he held, chaingun screaming away. Brick took a step back, but now, the only thing keeping them from death was his rain of fire. Moon's shotgun clicked on empty and she reached for more shells she didn't have. Brick stepped back further and the circle closed even more. There couldn't be much more ammo in the weapon, he had been firing non-stop. The barrel glowed orange in the night and acrid smoke rose from the weapon's every joint. Moon found herself pressed as close to the moving carriages as possible without touching them, while trying to avoid the zombies that were bieng hacked down no more than five feet in front of her. With every flash from his weapon, Bick's eyes lit up, wide and alive with fear. The gun clicked as the ammunition belt reached its end and Moon knew they were in trouble. In one Swift movement, Brick turned and fastened his teeth in her mane. He jumped back, dragging her with him like a ragdoll. The pony swung his head and tossed Moon onto the deck of the final car like a sack of laundry. He lunged after her and managed to land his front half on the car. His rear hooves churned air as he tried desperately to pull himself up. Moon shot forward and offered a hoof, and with her help, he managed to pull himself onto the car. The zombies growled and leapt, but none made the jump to the lower step. "Celestia!" Moon gasped, flopping over on her side. "Don't... do that!" She looked over to Brick, who had lain down beside her. Much to her surprise, he was grinning. He chuckled once, a soft sound, smooth as silk. She stood up and gave him a push, but only managed in knocking her exhausted self back over again; it was like trying to push a wall. Brick didn't show it as easily, but he was exhausted as well. The muscles under his coat were taut and strained, still working off the adrenaline rush. He breathed a sigh and rolled onto his back, the machine gun grinding against the metal deck below. Snowglobe burst out of the car and looked down in horror at the two of them. Moon hurriedly sat up and gave a smile. "Don't worry, we're fine." Snowglobe exhaled deeply and leaned up against the car, clutching her chest. "Celestia... I thought you two were dead." Brick stood up and Moon leaned heavily on him for support. Her heart still beat in her head and every breath was a stab to the chest. "Think you guys could've cut it any closer?" she asked with relieved annoyance. "One more minute and we all may have been dead... What took you so long?" "The track curved around on the way here; it took a little longer than we expected." "Sure." There was an almighty crash from ahead as the engine smashed through the other side of the barricade. Zombies began to flow by like water around a boat and Brick backed Moon away from the edge with a protective forehoof. "Did you get all the supplies? she asked, looking back to Snowglobe. She smiled. "Yep... ish... Most of them." Moon blinked in surprise. "I was expecting a whole lot less than most. You ponies moved fast." "Adrenaline seems to do that to ponies." Moon tilted her head back, sighing as the breeze ruffled her mane. The only sounds in the night were those of the engine ahead and the rhythmic click of the wheels on the rail joints below. "How many ponies did we lose?" "I counted five," Snowglobe replied. "I wasn't really watching, so there could have been more." Moon just shook her head. "One more minute... One more minute and we'd all be dead." "Yeah, Dusty gave us full steam when he saw your muzzle flashes in the distance." Snowglobe giggled. "Did you know this thing can go sixty miles an hour?" Moon tapped her hoof on the floor ponderingly. "Think you could have gotten a bigger train?" Snowglobe deadpanned. "Okay, for one, it's not a train, it's a locomotive. But, back when Equestria was having that real big industrial boom—when I was just a foal—these things were used to haul freight." She smiled sheepishly. "Dusty told me all about it... Come on, let's go." She motioned them towards the carriage and opened the door. "Dusty will be glad to see you made it." Lanterns had been lit in the carriages so that they cast their light around the trashed interior. "Nice job, Moon!" a stallion jeered as she passed. "Yeah!" a pink mare added. "The plan worked. I thought you were crazy, but it totally worked!" She nodded self-consciously. "I did what I thought was best." A pony pounded her hooves on the floor of the car in applause, and after a moment, a few more joined in. Moon walked with her head aloft, silently wishing they'd stop their cheering as she paced through the car, Snowglobe and Brick in her wake. Sage met her on the opposite end with a wide smile. "I knew that headband was lucky." Moon reached up and ran her hoof over the fabric strip on her head. "If you want it back then too bad; I like it." Sage shook her head with a light laugh. "No, you deserve it." "Besides," Jade added from Sage's side with a little smile and a twitch of her eyebrows. "It makes you look sexy." Blushing and mildly irritated, Moon pushed out of the car and into the next. She made her way through the other three cars, receiving about the same praise she had been given in the fourth. After what seemed like an eternity, she closed the final door behind her and crossed over to the coal car. "Jeez," she muttered. Snowglobe snorted at the indignant look on her face. Moon rolled her eyes. "What? It's not like I want to be a celebrity or something." Snowglobe gave her a hearty nudge. "Don't worry. They're just excited. Give them a few hours and they'll calm down." She made her way over the covered tender with the help of a small ladder and walkway. Dusty sat in the cab, hoof poised over a lever while a Copper fed a constant stream of coal to the firebox. "Hey Dusty," Moon called, hopping down into the cab. Dusty's head shot around and he took on a relieved smile. "You're alive!" he declared. "There were so many zombies ah couldn't see where you'd gone... Girl, you sure as hay did shoot a lot of those things." She motioned towards Brick, who sat back casually, examining the cab, ears perked. "It was Brick who did all the shooting, him and that gun." Dusty wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. "Ah bet it was beautiful." "Actually, it was really scary. Wasn't it Brick?" Brick nodded once at her question and flicked his ears. "He used the whole ammo case." Dusty adjusted a knob on the boiler, keeping one eye on the gauges. "Good thing we have more of them." He smiled and shook his head. "No. It took me forever just to name my gun. Ah'll let you decide on a name." Snowglobe nickered and rubbed her chin. "Well then, I'll have to think about it." Moon made to return to the carriages. "I probably should check on everypony and make sure things are going alright." Brick and Snowglobe followed as she left the cab. "Hey, Snowglobe," Dusty called back. "Want to learn how to work this thing?" Snowglobe's eyes lit up like fireflies and she did a little prance on the tips of her hooves. "Yes!" She turned and darted back into the cab beside Dusty. Dusty gave Copper a sideways look. "Me an' Snowglobe can handle this for a while. You can go an' take a break." "Okay," the red pegasus replied impartially. He dropped the shovel and pranced quickly out of the cab to disappear over the coal tender. Obviously he didn't feel as impartial as he acted. Moon left with Brick, but once she had reached the first carriage, a thought struck her. "Shoot, I forgot to ask Snowglobe what we're going to do about arrangements." She looked to Brick. "I'll be right back." He nodded and continued on. She turned back and climbed back over the coal car. A moment later she dropped lightly to the steel deck and started for the cab, but stopped short. Snowglobe and Dusty stood quietly in the cab, eyes trained on one another. Not wanting to be caught intruding, Moon backpedaled and dived behind a mound of coal. She shifted her weight uncomfortably as to not be jabbed by the sharp blocks. Slowly, she poked her head up to see that they had not moved. She knew that she was eavesdropping, but curiosity was getting the better of her. "Go on," Snowglobe said after a moment. "You started to say something, now finish it." Dusty rubbed the back of his neck, eyes darting about the cabin. "Well uh, so..." He paused, going little red. Even over the sound of the engine, Moon could hear the two clear as day. "Come on," Snowglobe urged with a half-smile. "Spit it out." The pegasus cleared his throat loudly and ruffled his wings. "Well, ah was just thinkin'. Ah've known you for a while now, an' ah just... Ah think you're a nice mare." Dusty stumbled over his next words and swore under his breath. "Look," he declared, irritated at himself. "Ah really like you." Moon poked her head up a little further, feeling guilty. Snowglobe blinked, taken aback. "Dusty... you do know that I'm..." She paused, searching for words. "Different?" The pegasus cocked his head. "Well, how's that?" She blushed and brought a hoof up to rub her face. "I'm not much for... stallions, Dusty." "Oh." His eyes went wide. "Oh! Well that's... too bad." Hanging his head. "Well that's embarasin'. Ah just tried to ask out a fillyfooler." "Dusty," Snowglobe scolded. "That's a terrible label." He gave her a look. "Well then what the hay else am I supposed to use?" She began to stutter something but trailed off. "Well, I don't know. Just, don't use that." "Okay." Dusty looked down at his hooves, then back up to her. He looked hesitant. "Well then... would you be willin' make an exception?" Snowglobe gave a loud snort of laughter. "You're something, Dusty." "You aren't supposed to laugh at me," he stressed. "This was really hard for me to do." "Sorry, Dusty." She cast a look around and Moon ducked down a little. She leaned in close to Dusty. "Don't tell anypony I told you this. But, I've kind of had my eye on Moon." Moon wanted to die of embarrassment right there. She could have been perfectly happy to just die. Dusty laughed, but it was forced. "Well that's kinda' funny because... You know, I was, you know, also, going after Moon." That's it. If Moon were anywhere else she would have curled up into a ball and screamed and cried. Knowing stallions liked her was one thing. Knowing mares liked her was mildly embarassing, but still bearable. Knowing that both of her friends liked her was too much. Probably the only pony in their little group that wouldn't love to get with her was Sunny. Even Brick would sometimes give her that look of his that would make most mares melt like hot butter. What the hay was so attractive about her? Some mare's liked the attention, but she hated it. Good looks attracted every stallion not worth their weight in muscle and every one in a while, a pony she could bear. Looks were a curse. You shouldn't like a pony for how they look; you should like them for who they are. A good looking partner was just a bonus. Snowglobe closed her mouth, which had fallen open. "Well, that's a coincidence. " Dusty waved a hoof dismissively. "But ah stopped tryin' a while ago. She's got this thing for Sunny an' ah don't think she's gonna' break it. Ah don't know what she's goin' to do if he doesn't come back." "Yeah," Snowglobe added glumly. "I miss them. It just isn't the same without Willow and Sunny here." "Yeah..." Dusty perked his ears, switching topics. "So, just to be clear, your answer's no, right?" Snowglobe pondered the question with a light smile. "I wouldn't say that." He tensed. "But ah thought... you said—" "I'm a mare, Dusty, most of us can choose." Dusty shook his head confusedly. "Oh, well they always said that—" Snowglobe cut him off. "Nah, that's only for stallions. Most mares totally chose." Okay, Moon had to agree with Snowglobe there. "So... is that a yes?" Dusty asked hopefully. Snowglobe grinned and took a step closer to the pegasus. "Possibly." She closed her eyes slowly in an obvious gesture. Moon was unable to tear her eyes away as the two locked in a kiss. She began to count the seconds in her head, taking every new number and using it as means of telling herself she was a terrible pony for watching. Moon found it hard to push down the uneasy churning her belly. She imagined herself and Sunny in that position, then hit herself on the side of the head to clear such thoughts. The two broke apart at sixteen and Dusty stumbled back, trying to fold his wings back to his sides. He beat them once, shook a couple feathers lose, and managed to furl them again. "Yes," she said. "But don't expect any dedication. If I meet a nice mare I'm going for it." Moon ducked down and made herself as flat as possible as Snowglobe turned away from Dusty. She sashayed across the cab and made her way over the coal tender. All the while, Dusty watched her go, jaw slightly agape. "Dang," he whispered. "Do all mares like her kiss as good as she does?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I had a lot of fun with this chapter. Did I mention I like trains? Thanks for reading, comments are greatly appreciated and they fill me with a joy you could not imagine, so please, leave them. ~Sorren 


	12. Chapter 12

**the gray, unicorn stallion commanded, giving Sunny a hard push with his rifle barrel. **

**the pegasus murmured, hurriedly trotting out of the wagon as fast as the hoofcuffs would allow. **

**Willow was looking the guard over, most likely pondering the many different ways she could incapacitate him. **

**The stallion whom Willow had gone rows with on the flight stepped out behind the captives and pointed an accusing hoof at Willow. **

**t she cuffed?**She was! She was cuffed four times! She keeps biting through them and I can

**Sunny was beginning to lose interest in the conversation. He was instead looking around at the many, multi-storied buildings outside the fenceline of the REA landing field. Baltimare had been one of the many cities to take very kindly to industrialization. The city was massive. The plot was covered with many tall office buildings and semi-skyscrapers. These were only at the very heart of the city, but of course, that**Look,You and I both know that I** He paused and looked to the pony behind the mare, who mouthed him Willow**Willow,They aren

**Willow nodded willingly. **

**The blue stallion who had flown on the transport balked. **

**Willow smiled at him. **

**He gave her the most terrible of glares. **

**Willow reared up to pat the stallion on the back, but he jumped away. Instead, she turned to the gray unicorn who was removing her cuffs. **

**The gray pony raised an eyebrow, then turned to the blue stallion. **

**s some other thing. But she isn't contagious.**You don

**Candy struggled as a pink mare drug her from the wagon by a chain around her neck. t do this!**I didn

**Sunny tried to approach the two but a burly stallion blocked his way. Briefly, he thought of escape, but the chances were slim. It would be the three of them, chained, against six armed guards. Not to mention they were in an REA base; there were bound to be plenty more ponies waiting to come shoot them. Escape really wasn**What do we do with the traitor?They radioed ahead with commands. She** The gray stallion pointed towards the brick side of a building a ways in the distance. **

I swear to you, if you hurt her...It will be the end of orders. Besides, she killed her squad; nopony** He motioned towards the mare dragging Candy, then an orange unicorn stallion. **

**Sunny lunged forward, but was immediately taken down by a burly mare and shackled around the neck. He glared up at the stallion in charge from the ground. **

**He turned and gave Sunny a sad look. t.**I** Willow bellowed. t stop this right now, I will do something about it!**I told you to leave her alone!s chain. Willow dashed forward while the ponies scrambled to arms. Although the gray stallion stood beside her, he made no effort to stop her. She butted another mare out of the way and sprinted for the orange stallion readying to fire, who didns when Willow fastened her teeth in his mane and yanked his head back. His neck gave a meaty crunch as his muzzle faced the sky and the life left his eyes.

Willow didnYeah!Go Willow!No no no!Don** Reaching the wall, Willow grasped the chain in her teeth and braced herself against the wall. The ring tore loose in a little spray of shattered block. **

**Candy gasped as the mare broke the other chain. **

**Willow gave her a hard shove. Both jumped as a bullet whizzed by and struck the wall. t worry, I **

**Candy**Thanks, ** she called, standing up again. **

**They gray stallion in charge glared daggers into Willow, and she glared them back, unable to speak. The lightest of smiles crossed his face and he gave the tiniest of nods. Willow blinked and stood up a little taller. In a second, the smile was gone. he growled as the two stallions led her to him. He lunged forward and slew his hoof across her face. The cut that adorned her brow from the last time that she had been struck reopened and a line of blood ran into her face. She held the glare as the blood mixed with the wetness of her left eye and spread out in a dark-pink cloud. **

**a stallion whispered to a the mare beside him. s hardcore.**Take them to the laboratory. Once theyt our problem anymore. That chemical stuff is in their crate of belongings and I don't want to dig for it, take that over there if the mare breaks away again!Shoot her in the leg!t. Willow had saved his life enough times now that he had lost count. Without Willow, nothing would be rightt be alive. She was the only pony he really seemed to know. Since the night they had met in Desert Sage, she had saved him enough times to literally own him; she had saved everypony in their little group. Her quick thinking in times of crisis proved a great asset.

She raised an eyebrow at him and Sunny realized he had been looking over at her as they walked. He blinked and gave her a small nod.

Mind beginning to wander, he thought back to the friends they had left back in Appleoosa, wondering if he would ever see them again. They were hundreds of miles apart. He didnt a water shortage here. The city was much better enforced than Appleoosa. A fifteen-foot wall surrounded the whole of the city, guard ponies posted every fifty feet. Every one-hundred feet, there was an anti-personnel ground-to-air machinegun. Sunny listened, and was able to hear some of them firing. He had no idea how they managed to keep all the flying zombies out, but somehow they managed it.

This place was dangerous. He could feel it. The more ponies you have, the harder they are to keep track of. This place had thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of ponies. It was a death trap waiting to happen.

Ponies watched from the sidewalks, or from windows as they were escorted through the streets, murmuring to each other or giving scared looks before backing away.

Willow walked with her eyes closed and head down as blood continued to run down her face and drip from her nose. The green pony escorting her looked over and gave the chain a spiteful jerk. She huffed, and jerked back, taking the pony by surprise and causing him to slip and fall on his side. A murmur of amusement emanated from the crowd.

The stallion picked himself and cast an evil look to his snickering companion. **He raised a hoof and brought it down hard on Willows willpower not to lunge at the green stallion and attempt to tear one of his limbs off. **

**s a fun one,**Oh, I

**Sunny**Now come on and lets get there. And I don

**After about ten minutes with no real issues, the six reached a building that was a little wider than the rest, but not quite as tall. The name was posted in block painting above the door. **

**Bottle of Progress Laboratories **

**They entered the building to a well-polished lounge and cool air conditioning. An old mare looked over a pair of reading glasses at them from behind a polished-oak desk. Her eyes traveled to Willow, then to the drops of blood she was leaving on the clean floor. **

**Sunny**Testing. Floor up in the lounge,Mmmmmmf,What are you doing?We** Willow, who had been sitting quietly with her eyes closed, jumped and gave a muffled yell. **

**Sunny**Y-you can

**The green stallion stepped out of the elevator and tugged Willow in his direction. The white mare fought against them, but the two drug her easily across the polished surface. **

**Sunny lunged forward and wrapped his hooves around one of the chains. t taking her!**Get back here!s face of cold realization and horror through the final crack of the door. The elevator dinged and they began the slow ascent to the next floor. He turned to his captor, who had not moved. s name is wrong with you!?I didn

**Sunny reared up and shoved his face an inch from hers. t you stop it!?**I didn** She pushed him away. **

**Sunny was no longer trying to control the rage he had been holding onto. re all a bunch of cowards and murderers! You **

**She glared and matched his yelling voice. t know that!?**I know how screwed up things are. I just... I try and stay out of the way. Even if they won

**It took every bit of self-control her had not to try and kill the mare. t you help my friend!**I wanted to!We** he told her matter-of-factly. He reached for the button but she tugged him away. **

**m sorry but wes severe penalties for attack on another officer.**And they arenre doing!?No!No, they won't, because they

**Silently, Sunny allowed himself to be led down a narrow, white hall. Every nerve in his body screamed for him to attack this mare and steal her weapons, then go help Willow. If she didn**Is he one of them?s escort nodded.

s the other one?Aren

**They cyan mare swallowed. ll be here soon... They got held up.t stop himself. In a flash he was on her. he bellowed, spraying her face with saliva as he pinned her to the floor. In the back of his mind, he noted her sidearm was in reach, but she never went for it. **

**The pink mare bowed and trained her horn on him. There was a flash of green magic from her horn and he tried to duck. He wasn**Disorientation spell,Grayhooves, take him to room number three; itre going to have to put them both in the same when we mix test subjectsthey tend to

**She waved him away. ll have to deal with it later. There was also some drug or something they were talking about. Well yield anything but we still have to check.**I** she whispered, standing up again to look him in the eye. She nodded a farewell, then turned and left without another word. **

**Grayhooves herded him into the room rather rudely and gave him a forced smile. The door closed with a secure clunk, then gave a little hiss. **

**Examining his room, Sunny let out a little groan. This was the most boring room he had ever seent that be nice. **

**Had they just stayed in Appleoosa, everything would have been fine. He would still be with Moon and Dusty, Snowglobe, even Brick, even if he didnd be Willow and Snowglobe**Willow!I am going to kill everypony here,Willow... are you

**she answered. m not okay.**Never... never had I imagined ponies could... would...I... I

**s alright,**i-its t-that b-b-big of a ** he said, gently placing a hoof on her back. **

**Willow let out a horrified gasp and jerked away. t touch me!**Willow, its me, Sunny.I

**Willow pushed herself up and moved towards him a bit. she whispered. **

**He met her unsettled gaze. **

**Sunny did his best not to flee as Willow sprang forward and wrapped him in a crushing hug. He closed his eyes, trying to think about anything but the fact that he was hugging another pony. Well, that a pony was hugging him. Willow sobbed into his flank, legs wrapped tightly around his neck. Tentatively, he reached up and draped his hoof around her back, the motion sending shudders up his spine. She was crying on him; he was going to lose it. **

**s okay,**I** He moaned at a peculiar churning in his stomach. **

**She didn**Just... get it ... do it fast please.s flanks from across the room. Even if the pegasus were awake, he wouldnt told him what had happened, but he knew. Unspoken words had passed between the two, and he knew.

She had never thought it possible. Something like that could have never happened to her... but it had. Thinking of the ordeal in her damaged state, her mind brought her back to a day of her childhood.

-ooOoo-

It was a dark afternoon. Dark clouds clotted the sky, but didnShe** they would always say. Or, s that supposed to mean?s biggest bullies were finding themselves bored out of their wits, and the quiet white filly minding her own business was a perfect entertainment piece. **

**Willow was pouring over a book devoted to teaching precision surgery that she had paid for herself. Her parents had absolutely forbidden her to study medicine, so she had bought her own book and studied it away from home every chance she got. **

**She was interrupted from the column on tactical incisions when a pink hoof stepped right on the book she had been looking down upon. Willow lifted her head to look right up into the smug face of Petunia, a filly she had learned to despise. Petunia was two grades ahead of Willow, and was almost always surrounded by her braindead followers. **

**the pink pony said venomously. **

**Willow sat up and glared at the older mare, who was nearly twice her size. (failing the third grade twice hadn**What do you want?a filly and a coltOh, ?Hey!Give it back!What** she complained, slamming it shut. s just weird pictures and a bunch of words in here. Therere just reading nonsense; no wonder you're so dumb!**Its one of the most up-to-date books in that field you can ,Maybe I

**Willow repeated, making another lunge only to be knocked back again. **

**Petunia hissed. **

**her stallion friend mimicked. **

**Willow was angry now, and of course, she let it get the better of her. She didns face. She flared her nostrils and backed Willow into the corner of the chainlink fence. **

**Willow hadn**Um...s rump his the fence.

Petunia moved uncomfortably close and her friends fanned out to the sides. **They chuckled their agreement and Petunia chose that moment to spring. Taken by surprise, Willow was tackled up against the fence. The burly pink mare managed to get in two blows to her muzzle before Willow was able to raise her hooves in defense, but they were pulled away a moment later by Petunia**Call me a whore will you!?You

**-ooOoo- **

**She had been left that day, badly bruised and bloody, sprawled in the rain beside a sopping-wet and torn textbook. **

**But that had only been a beating. This, today, had been so much more than a beating. So much more. Her head was sore where she had been struck, where the gun barrel had been pressed. The skin stung where her mane had been pulled. The memory of the green one**Willow?s tired voice as he rolled over on the bed. She watched as he rolled to his haunches and looked blankly around, pupils swollen to the size of bits. **he repeated. **

**She sniffed. m fine... Just... go back to sleep.**Willow... I know you arent possibly know how hard this is for you. But if you need anything... If you need to talk, I you almost made me have a nervous you, I just need some time right let me know.t just trust she felt.

Moon poked the cut apple around her plate with no real interest in eating it. She had no real appetite, despite her previously growling stomach. With a sigh, she pulled her attention away from the booth table and looked out the window. Rocky landscape slid by at what Dusty had told her was a smooth thirty-five miles per hour. The early morning sun shone over a distant ridge, directly through the window of the train carriage, lighting the car with a glowing orange-yellow light and illuminating every spec of dust as they flittered around carelessly.

In the booth across from Moon, a father and his foal slept, despite the constant chugga-chug of the engine. All around, the car was filled with sounds of sleep. But as Moon sat quietly, she could pick out the sounds of stirring.

The night before last had been hard, and ponies were still recovering. Moon had no idea why she was the one that always had to make all the hard decisions. Last night, a frantic mare had run to her, saying that a pony was bitten. There were plenty of other ponies on board with guns. But no, she had to be the one to do it. She had had to stand there, gun aimed on a mare who trembled in the corner, trying to hide the bite mark on her foreleg from view. Of course someone had to do it, but she had never imagined that that someone would be her. There was nothing right, nothing justifying about shooting a defenseless pony. But what was she supposed to do, throw the bitten mare off the train?

**a voice whispered quietly. **

**She turned to see Snowglobe picking her away across the car and around sleeping bodies. she whispered back. **

**The gray unicorn motioned to the sleeping ponies, then to the door between cars. Moon nodded and left her seat. Following Snowglobe to the front of the car, the two exited. Snowglobe closed the door behind them and spat out the strand of mane that the wind had whipped into her mouth. The platform they stood on was almost large enough for two ponies to stand comfortably. **

**Moon asked. **

**Snowglobe started. **

**Moon nodded. **

**Snowglobe half-smiled. **

**s pretty good.**Also, she says we need to eat most of the apples before we even touch the water, otherwise theythey

**re good?**Yeah. The cases with the drug from the hospital are there, and we still have some canned food.I don

**Moon laughed. **

**Snowglobe**Is it like... wrong of us to keep food hidden away?No, I dons not like its just a few cans of sweet stuff, not enough to feed more than a few ... I guess how are things going?Good, I guess... This is hard work. Now I know why Sage quit. I swear, if I didnd be foalsitting and kissing boo-boos 's really that bad, huh?You bet it of these ponies are real gun-toting roughbackss mothers with foals, or rich and prissy ponies that dons going on. Appleoosa must have taken some of these ponies in from somewhere, because they certainly werenThat

**Moon pushed her away with a smile to match. t you start.**I was just going to talk to Dusty about how far we can take this engine. Want to tag along?Sure. encounter the night before last and suddenly found herself much more comfortable in the presence of Snowglobe, knowing that she might not be on the unicornCan you believe it?Dusty** She took a blissful pause. The mare looked like she was going to start salivating. **

**Moon smiled. **

**Snowglobe flushed. **

**called a little green colt whom she did not know. He bounced excitedly up to her, levitating a cork gun aloft. **

**she greeted with a smile. **

**The young colt trotted along beside her as she crossed the car, pushing Snowglobe out of the way and forcing her to walk a little ways behind. m going to be just like you! I **

**His praise set her heart aflutter. m not all that different from anypony here.**What are you talking about? The way you killed those zombies last night was awesome!The way you saw that one zombie and, boom! Then you stood next to that big pony with the gun and you were all like, And he was like** The colt began mimicking machine gun noises. **

**she exclaimed happily. **

**The colt fell back, half-turning away as they reached the end of the car. ll, like, totally freak out. Bye!**Bye,Got yourself a fan,I shouldn

**Her friend just shook her head sadly. re a better pony than you think, Moon.**But thatm not. You know what I was thinking about when I first met Sunny?I

**Moon thumped her on the side. s a terrible thing to want from a stallion like him. You know hes why I stuck with it. Because I **

**Snowglobe got that look about her. **

**She flushed. **

**They both jumped as Copper burst through the door that Moon was about to open. Snowglobe and Moon reversed direction and made room for him as he stumbled drowsily into the car. Greeted Snowglobe with a question. **

**Copper squinted at her and gave his golden-brown mane a shake, filling the air with coal dust. he returned. Throwing a glance to his coat. **

**Snowglobe**Oh, here, let , I think I got it as good as a bath. been working me all go to sleep,You look like you need 

**She shrugged. She pushed open the door and ushered Moon through, then followed. she asked semi-seriously. **

**Moon gave Snowglobe dry look, then thought about it. she said with a little blush. **

**Moon knew what the mare was trying to get at. Of course her answer was yes, but she wasn**Look,It mean or an idiot or complete imbeciles... or too small, my answer is probably going to be it

**Snowglobe patted her on the head. **

**Dusty sat relaxedly in the hotseat, head tipped back and eyes half closed. Moon jumped down from the tender with a clatterand Dusty looked up to see them. He greeted the two with the tip of an imaginary hat. **

**Moon flicked her ears at him. **

**He sat up straight. s the word?**Well, you know that we need to get to we at a few days travel time. To get there, wed also have to go through Canterlot, which I don it all. Were going to have to stop and resupply somewhere if we we need though, then it all thought out before you . Can we climb the Canterlot hill in this thing without splitting the tracks?Believe it or not, these engines used to run that how far is Dodge?Ten minutes or .What

**Dusty followed her pointing hoof, squinting for a better view. re movint be anythin He turned back to them. The pegasus went for the shovel propped against the edge of the cabin, but before he could get to work, Snowglobe levitated a solid stream of coal from the tender to the firebox. Dusty blinked, then cracked a smile. **

**Moon looked over them. re preparing for battle.**Honestly Moon. We havent tried to kill us. Therethey

**Moon slumped. There was already tension building in her belly. Just the night before last, she had nearly died... like, three times. many of the other ponies hadn't been so lucky. So far, since Appleoosa, she had been dealing with one big, never-ending hardship. **

**She prayed to Celestiafor just one break. she whispered, **

**There was a heavy thud on the steel roof above and Moon**What was that!?What do you think? Something here to kill there is a pile of buffalo shit! Did you see those claws!?s once-golden beak was now chipped and stained with blood, and very little of its plumage remained. It stalked towards the three frozen ponies, front clawsclicking ominously on the steel below, muscles rippling under its matted coat.

Overcoming her shock and fear, Moon fired, drilling it in the shoulder. It jumped to the side as its shoulder turned into a mess of meat and bone and let out another terrifying screech. The griffon took a slash at the wall with its good foreleg and left four, ragged tears in the steel, allowing the sunlight to shine through.

Dusty drew Valediction and tried to fight off the jitters as the griffon turned its sickly yellow gaze on him. He fired, and the griffon stumbled again as a bullet ripped through its chest, then its wing. Another shot sheared off half of its beak. Still, it lurched forward on three legs, bleeding from multiple wounds and dragging a leg attached by no more than tendon and sinew.

Snowglobe had manage to curl herself so far into the corner that she resembled a purple and gray beechball. Dusty took stance in front of her, eyes flashing dangerously. Moon shook her head clear. She had locked up, again. It was a only a griffon, and here she was freezing up like a mouse under a snakeThat was a damned griffon!What in Equestria!?Theret see them too often because they like to stay secluded. There were a few towns that were mostly ,There

**In a second, Moon was at her side, peering out the side of the locomotive. she screamed at nothing. t!**Well they the engine!Everypony arm yourselves!Griffons! We have griffons!What

**Moon pushed past her without slowing, forcing the mare to chase behind her. **

**Moon reared back as the window ahead of her blew inwards in an explosion of glass and fur. A male griffon smashed into the wall and landed shakily on its paws. It spread it wings, completely obscuring the small hall. Hardly missing a beat, it screeched and surged towards her, flapping its tattered wings madly and knocking lanterns on the walls off of their hooks. The pink mare behind Moon fired, but her shots only peppered the beast. Moon**Mama!Get back in the room!Mommy has to protect the train. It worry!But mama

**Terrified, the little filly scampered backwards and back into one of the rooms, sliding the door shut behind her. **

**Moon addressed the pink mare, pointing to her shotgun. The mare gave Moon a shameful nod. **

**With a nicker, Moon levitated a box of buckshot rounds from her bag and tossed it to the mare, who caught it. She started for the door to the next car. re in charge of this car!basically a big metal and wood shell filled with rows of seats dangerous. They thought. They fled. They had enough of their brain to know the difference between life and death, and that made them very dangerous. **

**A shocked silence filled the car and Moon took advantage. she yelled over the wind. **

**Trying not to look at the destruction, Moon continued to move through the car. Her hoof slipped on something and she looked down. The green stallion lay there, bleeding out. His eyes were still open, but he was no longer seeing. he was breathing, but barely. Moon looked away and aimed the shotgun. Splinters of wood and blood flew as her shot hit its mark. They all looked at her, mixed expressions of sadness and fear. She commanded flatly, loading a new shell. **

**It had been just like yesterday. It had to be done. **

**There had to be a better way to defend. She was no good inside like this. A sudden, helpful but dangerous thought struck her and she made headway for the end of the car. Once on the plate between cars two and three, she stopped to examine the situation. As the locomotive rounded a lazy corner towards the small town of Dodge, she was able to get a good view of the right side of the train. **

**More windows had been shattered along the length of the cars. Pegasi and griffons swooped in from both sides in a relentless bombardment. One would be shot out of the air and another two seemed to appear and take its place. A griffon dropped down on the roof of the third car and tore a whole panel right off the roof. **

**With a sudden swell of courage, Moon scaled the ladder to the roof of the third car. She stood up top, wind and gravitational pull from the corner threatening to tear her from the slick aluminum. A swooping pegasus tried to make a snack of her but she fired the shotgun and shredded its left wing. It fell short and thudded against the side of the car. Another griffon tried to climb through the hole made by the first but there was a gunshot from inside and it fell back to roll off of the roof and drop to the ground below. **

**Moon threw herself herself around in a circle, eyes wide, ready to shoot anything that dared look at her. To her surprise, the situation seemed to be containing itself. The fliers were falling back and the ones who still stuck around were quickly being dealt with. **

**A sudden deceleration caused Moon to stumble and use her shotgun as support to keep from falling. Her eyes widened frantically. The train was slowing down! **

**Snowglobe asked the pegasus urgently. Dusty pointed frantically out the window at the tracks ahead. Snowglobe followed his hoof to a siding filled with a row of old boxcars. t see anything!**The main line is switched into a sidin** The heavy chug of the engine ceased and the hiss of the boiler took over. **

**Snowglobe balked. **

**He gave her a wry look. t know, but we **

**The engine was at galop-speed when Dusty cut the brakes. Snowglobe stepped up to the edge of the hoofplate, mentally readying herself for what she was about to do. She could see the switch ahead. It wasn**Whoa!Ainm lettin** He stepped up to the edge himself and looked back at her. **

**She nodded fearfully and Dusty flared his wings, ready to jump. she called suddenly, causing him to tense and look back. t die, please. I kissed my very first stallion two nights ago and I don**If ah come back you gotta give me more** He laughed at her face and then he was off, beating his wings frantically to overtake the train. Snowglobe hung anxiously from the window, watching as he overtook the engine and made for the switch, which was still a ways off but rapidly nearing. **

**Dusty let out a cry of distress as a horde of zombies surged out from around the boxcars in the siding ahead. Snowglobe ground her teeth as Dusty put on an extra burst of speed, dropping to the ground to dodge a griffon while continuing to beat his wings to speed his gallop. He reached the switch right as the zombies did. Not even bothering to draw his weapon, he charged right through the horde and threw all his weight on the lever. There was a grating sound from the tracks ahead as the points switched back to the main line. The whole lever snapped off under Dustys head then beating off three more. Dusty dropped the handle and ran, dodging as the creatures snapped at him. One made a lunge and he didn't quite dodge fast enough. His head was jerked around as the zombie got a hold on him. Dusty yanked, and managed to pull free. He stumbled away and crossed to the trackside, flapping his wings to keep himself upright. **

**Snowglobe could tell from here something wasnt bother to try to make it to the cab. He beat his wings and brought himself a little ways into the air, then dropped like a sack of flour onto the platform in front of the boiler. Snowglobe could see half of him from here. He tried to stand from where he lay, a little back and above the front buffers, but fell back to his belly and rolled to the side, out of sight. **

**Snowglobe yelled into the wind, seeing nothing but his tail. Without even having to think about it, she decided to go to his aid. First, though, she had to get the engine under steam. Turning to the interior cabin, she gave it a quick look-over before working the overhead lever above the hotseat, setting it to the furthest point. **

**The engines aid, and came face to face with a snarling, green pegasus. **

**The zombie glared at her in mid jump, mouth agape and eyes popping. A mere second and it would be biting at her throat. She ran her optiont even know what was coming. It hit the ground on all four hooves and slid across the hoofplate. Its front hooves collided with the steel lip and its body fell half into the fiery furnace. Snowglobe hissed and pushed it the rest of the way in with her magic then slammed the steel cover shut. There was a screech to match one of a griffon and the smell of burning flesh filled the cabin. **

**Not giving herself time to think about what she had just done, Snowglobe bolted to the rear of the cabin. She had to get to Dusty. He was hurt, and badly by the looks of it. She silently prayed to Celestia, asking to not have her fears confirmed. **

**Problematically, he was also on the very front of the locomotive. **

**Swallowing down her fear, she eased herself out of the window and managed to get her hind hooves on the lip a little below halfway up the boiler. Slowly, she worked herself along the edge, careful not to touch the steaming hot pipes along the length of the boiler but also keeping close enough to them so as she didn**Eighty Celestia damned feet,Dusty!Dusty!You hit tha** he asked drowsily. **

**Snowglobe offered a hoof and helped him to a sitting position. **

**Dusty rubbed his head and gave it a violent shake. Snowglobe winced and closed her eyes as blood splattered her. The left side of Dusty left ear was completely gone, only a few tattered shreds remaining around the edges of raw, pink skin. **

**she cried. **

**He swayed on his hooves and looked curiously at her. **

**Snowglobe dug in her saddlebag for something to stop the bleeding and emerged a moment late with the only thing she could find**Snowglobe?What... what about my ear?Well... Its me?Your ear is gone. protests, she wrapped his head tight in the rag to stop the bleeding.

Dusty froze stiff and his eyes unfocused. **His jaw trembled slightly. **

**Snowglobe shook her head. **

**Dusty**Ah

**Grasping both sides of his head in her forehooves, she lifted it to look into his eyes. t dead. You didnyou got your ear torn off.**Don

**The pegasus thought for a moment, placing a hoof on the good side of his head. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he collapsed to the floor with a gasp. **

**Snowglobe leaned down and gave him a nuzzle on the cheek. **

**He grinned, eyes still closed. but almost dyin **

**She rolled her eyes and flicked him with her tail. ll see.**Is it just me, or are we goin

**Snowglobe, who had been wondering if a healing potion would regrow an ear, perked up. Her mane whipped her face and the track ties ahead were beginning to turn into nothing but one big blur. Thick, black smoke poured from the stack and the engine**I think so,Well there out of Dodge junction and ah we turn over?Good chance we might if we fast can fly back to the engine, but ah canre movin

**She gave him a shove. **

**He gave her a nod, then was off. She didn**Are you feeling any cold sensations?No,Do you have any trouble focusing? you noticed any alterations in your eyesight? there

**he interrupted, sitting up to glare at her. t going to magically change to yes if you ask enough questions. I feel fine. And I know you know I **

**She gave him a look. m picking up abnormalities in your mood.**Yeah. Do you want to know why my mood is ? Itm pissed. I try to help you ponies and you turn me into some sort of damned labrat and rape my friend. If I dons allowed to piss me off! Because I have no fucking clue!Look, Ive already told you; I donor their operatives

**Sunny just shook his head. **

**She blew air. He banged his head repeatedly on the wall behind him and she shot him a look, her horn glowing slightly. **

**t get out you know,**She cries, all the time. She says she

**The mare was unphased. m sorry, but that isn The intercom in the room beeped loudly and she rolled her eyes, crossing to the small box to depress the button. **

**t feel safe keeping this thing alive in a cell. Get over here and run the scans so we can flame it before something happens.** , give me five escort number twenty-three back to his cell. I have work to stay here.t cuffed or restrained, and may have been able to try and sneak out, but the chances were slim. Besides, even if he could, he couldnt cope without him, not in the state she was in.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not bring himself to grasp the idea that he wasnlet** a female voice said firmly, muffled and distorted slightly by the respirator built into the suit. **

**Begrudgedly, Sunny and trotted over to the suited pony. The faceplate was reflective, and he could see nothing but himself in the glass. m not contagious,**Hey,Ill know something's up; there are cameras everywhere.I** He gave her a blink and a semi-raised eyebrow. She stopped in front of his door and punched in the code. she commanded harshly, giving him a hard shove. **

**Sunny allowed himself to be herded back into his room. Willow wasn**Who are you?Be ready for when I come defend from the roof!t even hit the ground; theyt just bite talons didnincluding hert know how much more of this they all could handle.

On the first car, the pink mare whom Moon had previously met held strong. The left side of her face sported a deep gash and blood layered thick on her coat and mane. She blew one griffon in two different directions, then turned on a pegasus running from behind and smashed it across the muzzle with the butt of the weapon. She used the brief cease of attack to jam as many new shells into the weapon as she could. A griffon landed at the front of her car and tore up a roof panel. With a bellow of rage, the mare charged and both her and the griffon dropped into the car in a flurry of wings and hooves.

Moon sidestepped a diving pegasus and it crashed into the roof with a skull-cracking thunk and went limp. **she screamed, loosing off two rounds at a pony clinging to the side of the car. **

**She used the last shell in her weapon to blast another griffon. Levitating out four more, she began to reload, but was struck hard in the side and sent sprawling to the roof, stunned, shells scattered about. She tried to scramble to her hooves, but a blue pegasus pounced her, pinning her on her back. It lunged at her, jaws wide, but she held up the shotgun in defense and it got a mouthful of gun barrel. Looking over, she levitated one of the shells she had dropped right before it rolled off the roof and jacked it into the chamber. **

**The pegasus**Thanks,s claws. As she watched, dozens of pegasi and griffons swooped down to land the car.

There was a sinking in her stomach as she turned to Brick. **He nodded and took the firing bit in his mouth. Zombies charged at them from the top of the fourth car, some running, some flying, some trying to do both. Brick trained the weapon and blinked once. **

**ll keep them off your rump.s eyes gleamed in anticipation right before the buckshot blew them out. It cried out in anger and fell off course, missing the car completely and hitting the ground with a meaty crunch. **

**Brick cut his constant stream of fire and began shooting in bursts, aiming for individual zombies now. After a moment, nothing remained on the roof of the fourth car but hunks of what used to be zombies. Brick turned, and began strafing zombies circling the car, using the tracers as guidance. **

**Moon the water tower to the left of the tracks. The support beams on the side of the tracks were broken, and the massive wooden barrel was falling diagonally towards the tracks, against the direction of the engine. Both the engine and the first car had already cleared the tower, but she hadnt bring herself to move. She stood in frozen shock as the world continued to move at a soundless crawl. The scaffold holding the water tank began to snap and shatter as the second car nicked it as it slid by. The barrel atop snapped free from the frame and began to fall toward her, water pouring from the broken pipe in the bottom. **

**She snapped back to reality and was once again bombarded by screeches and gunfire. A shadow fell over the two ponies on the roof of the third car and Brick ceased fire to look up fearfully. **

**The tank hit right before where they stood and the entire roof crumpled like a tin can under its weight. Moon felt herself falling, and lost all means of her surroundings as water drenched her coat and filled her ears and eyes. Something hard struck her head, blurring her vision. She tried to take a breath but choked on water. Her body smashed against something, only to be whipped away to be smashed against something else. With what very sense remained, she registered the sound of one of her ribs cracking. **

**Her focus came to and she scrambled to her hooves. Looking around, she discovered she was now inside the train car. Water flowed around her hooves like a river and chunks of ceiling rained down around her. She looked up in time to see the heavy barrel of the water tower teetering on the roof directly above her. It tipped, dumping hundreds more gallons of water on her. Once again, she lost al coordination as she was thrown around like a sock in a washing machine. She found the floor and hugged it, dragging herself along it. Her head hit the wall and she rolled over onto her back. **

**She had crawled to the back of the car and was now clinging for dear life, trying not to be swept through the hole in the wall by the river of water running through the car. The roof above her groaned and several support beams snapped, casing its weight to sag. Moon tried to climb to her hooves, but the water pulled her hooves out from under her and she landed painfully on her back, looking up as more beams snapped. The wood paneling crunched and snapped from the walls as they bowed inward and the roof dropped a foot with a splintering crunch. **

**She gave up, going limp as wood began to rain on her. **

**The main support beam snapped. **

**The mare stopped to listen. She was sure she had heard something. One of the pipes along the length of the steel hallway hissed as a release valve tripped. The sound had been nothing. She ruffled her cyan coat and smoothed her lime-green mane nervously. It was no turning back now. **

**Hoofsteps sounded ahead and she ducked left into a small maintenance wing of the hall. Quickly, she magically unscrewed the bulb from the light housing so as the only light was the faint baby blue from her horn. She dropped the bulb and hunkered down, waiting. A pony clad in REA barding trotted by casually, whistling a cheery tune. **

**When she was sure he was gone, she crept out and continued on down the way she had been going. Those two always came here. All she had had to do was follow them on her shift. They were still here **What the fuck do you want? Canre** His left eye blew out as her pistol whispered its response and his count of seventeen fluttered to the tabletop. The single brass casing from the gun tinkled on the concrete floor in the silence. **

**The green stallion cried out as blood splashed across his face. Dropping his cards, he held his hooves up in defense at his attacker. he asked fearfully. **

**the mare asked with venom. **

**The stallion squinted at her, his eyes widening in realization. t do a-anything to you. What do you want?**It

**he shot back angrily. **

**Wrong answer. She took a step towards him, aiming the silent killer. he stammered. t kill me, I ne The slide on the weapon worked and his skull crunched as the bullet struck him directly in the forehead. **

**She holstered the weapon and looked around, to the blue stallion and the spreading pool of blood, then to the green stallion poised awkwardly on the couch. Her eyes drifted upwards and picked out the security camera mounted on the roof. **

**How had she missed that? No matter, it was too late now. she said to the camera. ve just done Equestria a favor.**Cheers,Tomorrow you


	13. Chapter 13

Moon awoke to darkness. She lay on her side, a heavy weight pressing painfully against her ribs. A dull throbbing filled her head, and the rest of her body felt no better. She lifted her head slightly and the very small world began to spin. Nothing really seemed clear at the moment. She tried to push up but the pain in her ribs grew more severe as the weight above shifted. It took her a moment of observation to realize that a heavy beam of wood had her pinned. Above her, even more sections of paneling and debris blocked her view of anything.

From somewhere ahead, there was a long whistle, low and mournful into the quiet air

Moon gave a heave and managed to pull herself an inch forward. The beam above creaked and pressed on her side, causing a small whimper of pain to escape her vocals. She breathed deeply, then pushed all the air out of her lungs and pulled with her forehooves. After some strain and a few breathless curses, she managed to pull herself out of the debris.

**she whispered, looking around at what was left of the train car. It was nighttime; she could tell this easily due to the fact that the car no longer had a roof, except for a small piece near the front end. The full moon shone in from the right side, casting it**Hello?Where is everypony?s eyes focussed on the light from the windows of the second car and she breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling a little less dreadful, she pushed out of the car to stand on the plates above the couplings.

The outside of the cars had fared worse than the inside. The steel railing had been reduced to nothing more than mangled scrap iron and the brake wheel had been torn off completely. Carefully making the transition to the second car, she walked forwards and pushed open the door, which only hung on one hinge.

This car had fared much better. Some of the windows had remained intact and there was only one pony-sized hole in the roof. In the middle of this car, all of the seats had been unbolted from the floor and arranged in a circle. Fourteen ponies sat around a gas lantern sitting on a stepstool. Among them, she recognized Snowglobe and Brick. There was the pink unicorn mare and her foal, the mother wrapping her child in a close caress. She was also glad to see Sage and Jade. The turquoise mare had her face pressed into the coat of the dark pegasus, who only gazed absently at the flickering lantern. All of the ponies had weapons, either tethered to them or resting on the floor beside them or up against the seats.

Snowglobe lifted her head and her eyes spotted Moon, going as wide as saucers. **she asked in disbelief. The others turned swiftly to look at her at Snowglobet even seem to care. **

**Moon walked slowly towards the lantern, feeling like she were about to step on a landmine. She took a seat to the left of Snowglobe and Brick. The brown stallion gazed at the lantern his face grim. **

**Snowglobe repeated. **

**Moon frowned. **

**It took the gray mare a moment to form a sentence. ve been gone for hours, like, sixteen hours.**I thought you** A baby blue mare across from Moon choked back a sob. **

**Moon blinked. Sixteen hours? She tilted her head to the left and her neck cracked painfully. **The water tower fell on,Where

**Snowglobe inhaled a shaky breath and looked away. Moon looked at the others, but none of them would meet her gaze. she asked, her voice a little higher than normal. t you answer me?**We

**Moon**W-what?We** she shouted suddenly. t anypony else. Wes left! Us, and Dusty and Copper in the engine.**You had disappeared by the time Dusty had gotten me off the front of the train and Brick was unconscious on the only ponies who made it were the ones who hid or had enough ammo to not get eaten. There were too many. Once they got on the train it was over from the start.I don

**The pink mare pulled her foal in tighter. she said lightly. ll try my best dear, but there **

**For Moon, reality had begun to set in, and it was horrible. s it huh?t been good enoughto save them. Appleoosa seemed like such a small feat now that they were gone. **

**said Jade quietly, never pulling her eyes away from the floorboards. m a coward.**We fought while we could. Your decision saved us.** said Moon carefully, s some good news.**The griffonst infect you, because I

**The pink mare nodded and flicked her yellow tail. d all be dead otherwise.**Would you like a healing potion?s eyes lit up.

**Moon dug in her saddlebag and produced a vial containing a deep, purple potionand levitated it over to the pink mare. **

**Gratefully, she took the potion and uncorked it. Taking a drink, she breathed a sigh of relief, then passed the potion to the dark-gray stallion with an orange-black mane beside her, who was looking pretty rough as well. stuff always feels weird going down,**For your back,Thank know,I thought that the normal zombies were griffons are like fucking... super zombies or something. I watched one of them tear open the roof like it was tissue paper and then turn a pony into silly string before I could even things... What they hay are we supposed to do against those things?These things are amazing. Thank Celestia whats

**re putting it nicely,**You didn

**Moon massaged her head. t want to talk about this.**Im not trying to be inconsiderate, but I don

**They all looked up as the door leading to the engine swung open and a pony**Dusty... who

**The pegasus took a seat between Moon and Snowglobe. s stable ans in there watchin goes wrong.**What happened to your head?Moon! You** He smiled, then lifted his hoof to the bandage, smile fading. **

**He looked at the lantern for a long time. t know yet.**We** He looked to the revolver on his leg. **

**Moon tried to tear her mind away from the gloom and focus on something else. **

**Dusty shook his head solemnly. **

**She growled in her throat. **

**t stop to take on water, we aren't goin **

**Moon could feel that particular feeling in the pit of her stomach. **

**Dusty gave her a look, eyes flat. **

**Sunny called, bracing her hooves on the mare**Willow, stop!s thrashing had subsided and she now lay curled on the bed, quaking.

Carefully, he approached her.

**She rolled onto her back, looked up at him, then quickly rolled onto her belly to hide her underside. She was quiet for a moment. **

**Sunny rubbed his neck sorely. **

**The mare laughed cruelly. m a mess.**Willow, you the strongest pony I know. Remember the very beginning? When we saw you running down that sidewalk like you had a pack of wild dogs on your tail? You knew the dangers, but you still did what you could. Willow, youm still alive **He placed a hoof lightly on her neck, trying not to flinch too much at the bothersome feeling. ve survived more than anypony Ive been bitten, injected with your medicine stuff, half eaten by a buffalo, youve even been shot.**Yeah, but all of those I was able to fix with a healing potion... I guess I just got high on myself, overconfident. I never thought that something like that could ever happen to me.I** She broke off, sobbing lightly. **

**Sunny winced and tried not to jump away as she buried her muzzle in his side. s okay.**It

**Of course, she either didnt a thing he could do other than try and give her some support. Even thinking about the ponies who had done this to her, he was filled with such a rage that he could imagine himself shooting them, and shooting them over and over again. They deserved death, no less than torture. In such a trying time for everypony, ponies needed to work together, not sexually assault each other. **

**Baltimarea city without rule but filled with thousands of ponies. This place was a giant pit of anarchy with minor code enforcement making it no better, and the REA was responsible for it all. What was left of the REA was not what they had been. They were broken, corrupt, ruined; they were no more than a bunch of schoolyard bullies with guns and pretty uniforms. Some of the ponies he had seen on the way to the testing centert know; they werent know what was happening beyond those fifteen foot walls and anti-air gunners. On the walk, he had spotted two ponies who seemed to have had a clue. A stallion and a mare had looked back at him, their eyes had said it all. They knew along with him that this wouldnt a safe haven; it was a quarantine. The doors to the city had been locked up tight and the key had been swallowed by some high-ranking officer. Thats why he and Willow had drawn so much attention in the streetsd rather be out in the real than trapped here in this pseudo paradise. His friends were still waiting for him in Appleoosa. They had been with him from the start, and Celestia strike him dead were he not able to return to them. **

**Slowly, Willow sat up, blinking tears from her eyes. She coughed once as if nonchalantly putting off the whole ordeal. **

**Unconsciously, he slipped off the bed and took an uncomfortable step away, then realized what he had done at the hurt look Willow gave him. To justify himself, he reached forward and placed a hoof on one of Willow**It

**ll kill them,**I swear it by Celestia, if I find them

**Sunny interrupted. **

**She actually smiled a little. **

**He noticed that look in her eye and quickly searched for a new topic. re breaking any ground with what we **

**She shook her head. t think so. But I swear, if Grayhooves takes any more of my blood he **

**Willow folded her ears. t think it **

**He blinked. **

**She seemed frustrated. ve heard them talking, about their research, discussing data strands or testing results. Theys just a really strong, dangerous antibiotic. If you remember correctly, it never actually cured me of the virus. I flushed most of it out myself before it could spread, then used the drug later. I have no idea what it did, but it never killed it. That stuff does something we dont a cure.**Well, then if they know that... why are they still keeping us?Correction, why are they keeping me? We all know why theyre immune, I

**This was news to Sunny, and it wasn**Well, what

**She shrugged. t have any idea of how to read all of this stuff. I think it isnm infected?**Look, I don

**Sunny looked at one of the shaved patches on his legs. s going on with you. They wons going on.s front. . A picture of the white stallion was just under the name; he was making a serious face at the camera. **

**Grayhooves stopped a little ways into the room and motioned for them with a forehoof. Willow rolled her eyes and approached, but Sunny was a little more skeptical. It was either Grayhooves, or somepony else. A little behind Willow, he approached. Grayhooves turned away from them and motioned for them to follow, leading them out of the room. **

**Willow gave Sunny a questioning look. s **

**He had told Willow about Candy**Stop pushing. I can walk on my own.t respond, instead leading them forward, down the white hall, keeping them within the reaching distance of a foot. Willow walked low to the ground, eyes darting about nervously. She skirted a stallion as they passed one another in the hallway, pressing herself up against the wall like a cat trying to scratch itself. The passing stalliongave Grayhooves a look, but didnWhere

**Willow jumped and gave a little eep, then realized it was him and went slack. m not sure. Either the elevators or the observation rooms.s heart began to beat faster as they veered away from the hall with the sign pointing towards the observation rooms and instead followed the sign pointing the way to the elevators. It was Candy**Oh, hey there, , right. I thought you were off right now. I was just coming to see you in your isn't that , stop being so cynical. Itve never done it before. Ponies gotta

**He gave her a flat look. **

**The mare snorted. A wide grin crossed her face. t! Ha!**Sorry. Itre as old as me and** She cackled, unable to complete her forced apology. **

**Grayhooves shrugged at the mare and pointed to his two captives. **

**The mare frowned. t know why youre hotter than the sun and it She paused. A nod from Grayhooves. s a good idea. Better safe than sorry.s rather teasing words and tried to think. It had to be Candy, Grayhooves would have said something by now. The pony in the suit was purposefully not talking. **

**They passed each other and the pink mare gave Grayhooves an expectant look. t be too long.s ears. He looked back in time to see a white stallion trot around the corner and nearly run into the pink mare. he said casually. t find my ID anywhere, did you happen to pick it up? I would have sworn I left it in the lounge but He looked at her face. Her eyes were wide and mouth slightly agape. s wrong?**Intruders!Run,s voice from the suit, muffled and distorted from the rebreather. Sunny didnLeft,Now Is Candy,s wake.

Several red domes lit up on the ceiling and alarms started blaring all throughout the building. **Cotton**Two patients are free from captivity and attempting escape with the aid of an imposter! Subject

**Willow laughed from beside Sunny as they ran, some of the old fire back in her eyes. ve stirred the fire a bit!**Looks like !t budge.

**She released the stallion and turned on Sunny, teeth bared and running with blood. He jumped away like a scared kitten, shamefully terrified. The pony in that maret Willow. She took a step towards him, letting out a sound similar to something between a hiss and a growl, eyes hungry. In a second, the look was gone and Willow looked down at him worriedly. She looked at Sunny, who was still trying get his mane to stop prickling, then to the wounded stallion writhing on the floor, crying as blood spilled from the wound on his neck to pool on the white tile. **

**Yelled the suited mare, grabbing Sunny by the mane and yanking him towards the elevator. He stepped over the guard mare, who sported several shock burns on her flank and head. Willow followed close behind in somewhat of a daze. The three pooled into the elevator and the suited mare hit the button for the first floor, causing the doors to slide shut and cut off the blaring of the alarms. **

**Sunny exclaimed happily, now absolutely sure that the suited pony was the striped mare. **

**Willow looked at her reflection in the stainless steel paneling on the wall. Blood had stained her muzzle and matted her front, and when she opened her mouth it could still be seen on her teeth. she asked herself. **

**The suited mare unclasped her helmet and tossed it to the floor, letting her red and white striped mane fall free and hang around the the suit. she muttered. t know how anypony can stand these suits.**I knew it was you!I told you I was going to get you you. You know, for getting us out, and saving Dusty back at the out of the you did make it away.s muzzle.

**re returning the favor.t succeeded very well. Now it was a reddish-pink stain across her mouth and front. **

**Sunny watched the floor counter above the doors switch to the number four. **

**There was a sudden lurch as the elevator stopped. Willow tensed. There was a hum from up above and the elevator started to rise. **

**Candy stomped her suited hooves. re taking us back up!**Well what do we do?Move,Okay,If we remove this fuse, then cut this and** Willow**Willow!What?Why the hay did you do that?What? I got the elevator to stop, didn

**t see anything, Willow.**Well I can.s night-vision. Of course she could see. **he asked Candy. **

**she responded sourly. **

**Willow**Hold on, there

**Candy said from the direction of the control panel. m going to see if I can salvage this.**No thank you,What?Candy,Help me up. Sunny has a thing.t able to see the mares, but he listened as Candy gave a grunt and there were some sounds of scuffling and a metallic grating. Yellow light spilled in through the roof, barely bright enough to provide enough light to see. **Willow muttered. A moment later her eyes disappeared from sight. **

**came Candy**Okay, Sunny,Get over here and I

**He stepped up to the hatch, which was faintly outlined by the yellow light above. He unfurled his wings for what felt like the first time in ages and gave them an experimental flap. Everything seemed alright. Jumping up, he beat his wings, lifting himself higher, ignoring the tiniest twinge of pain in his back. His head smashed against the roof and he crashed back to the floor of the elevator with enough racket to wake the dead. **

**Willow cackled. **

**He picked himself up, rubbing his head. Trying again, he got it right this time. Shooting through the hole, he landed neatly on the roof of the elevator. **

**From far above, a yellow maintenance light shone, giving them a dim light source, which seemed pretty bright in the solid black**We could use the vents. I read the blueprints and apparently they

**Sunny frowned. s too high to reach.**Well, there

**Willow finished with exasperation. **

**t we just pry open one of the doors?**Theyre closed, the only way they** She turned to look at the cable system mounted to the roof of the elevator. these are the kind of doors that do that.**W-what

**Candy pulled the pin with her teeth and spat it onto the roof of the elevator. **

**His stomach turned over as the elevator below him began to drop, the pulley wheel spinning madly. he screamed, clinging to the roof like a scared cat. Pipes and sections of the shaft blurred by, causing him to panic. They were going to hit the bottom of the shaft before they stopped. **

**There was a clank from the left guide rails as the wheels slipped out of their tracks, pitching the elevator sideways in the shaft. Sparks lit the air as the metal box ground to a cockeyed halt. Sunny gasped, picking himself up shakily. **

**She picked herself up, then pulled a stunned Willow to her hooves. She plodded to the high end of the elevator and pulled a vent cover off the wall. s go.**Come on, !Willow!Willow, get up!Come on, Willow!She knocked herself senseless,Sunny!Are you insane!?Come one Willow come on Willow,Come on, go! I

**She looked at him tiredly. **

**He was left with one option, and it wasn**Come on, Sunny!Come on,t move. The cold steel of the vent practically burnt against his searing coat. His wings lay dead at his sides and it felt like somepony had twisted a pretzel out of his spine. A series of violent muscle spasm ran up the length of his body and he cried out again, hacking up mucus in the process.

Candy passed Willow a healing potion and the mare took it with minor confusion. Enough of her sense told her to drink it and her eyes seemed to refocus again as the magical potion fixed whatever was wrong in her head.

**Willow asked, giving her head a little shake. She looked around and spotted Sunny in the low light, sprawled in the vent and looking half-dead. Concern welling up in her eyes, she rushed over to him. **

**he gasped before coughing violently. re not too heavy.**What?You fell and hit your head. Sunny flew you back up to the touching me, ,You... flew me?A little 

**Willow**You carried me?Yeah, just don** The tingly feeling in his legs left from touching the mare was one he could have gone without. He stepped on one of his wings and nearly fell, only saving himself by leaning on the side of the vent. They wouldn**Are you going to be okay?Yeah... I think** He cried out as his forehooves churned air. He tried to back up, but it was too late, he slipped and fell forward. Candy tried catch him, but his momentum drug her forward as well. He found himself falling. Of course he was falling. There was a sharp pain in his head as he bounced off the side of the vent, then the rest of his body as he bounced around like a rubber ball. He struck something soft that cried when his hoof hit it; that had to be Candy. **

**Hopelessly, he tried to maintain the fall with his wings, but not only would they not reach half their width in the ventilation duct, they wouldn**Get off me,No!No nonononono!Well that was , shoot! Sorry!d unsuspectingly stuck her hoof in a spiderweb.

**he wheezed, rolling into his side and clutching his middle. **

**Candy looked up at the hole in the roof. s not what I would have preferred, but it worked. I think we **

**re you!?**I-I-I** he threatened, voice shaking. **

**Candy held up her hooves in a gesture of peace. t here to hurt you.**H-horseapples!You** His voice had a higher pitch than most stallions**How do we get out?Y-you donre always you can get it open?Don

**Candy gave him a confused glare. **

**Sunny rolled to his hooves to interrupt, wincing in pain. t here to hurt you.**Don** Back to the scared pony. s your name?**My n-name? you

**Sunny slumped as an unexpected wave of nausea hit him, but he was able to fight it off a moment later. He pointed to Candy. s getting us out.**So, sheNo,A-are you b-b-breaking out?Ooooh!s eyes lit up and he trotted around Sunny in a little circle. s been forever since I

**Sunny furrowed his brow. **

**Blaze gave a little hop. m a pegasus.**Care to explain to me how that works?Well... I was a took my wings off. wings was like taking an earth ponyWhy would they do that?It wasn** He kicked at the air. **

**Candy broke away from Willow and waved for Sunny**I didn

**re coming with us,**I-I am?I don

**Candy backed away from the door, examining a square package she had placed there. s safe to take him?**What do you mean?Well, he

**Willow stepped up beside Candy. s right. The first floor is where they kept the biological testing subjects. Grayhooves took me down here once for some screening.t believe his ears. These two mare**We** he said firmly. **

**Something in his eyes must have shown, because Candy immediately dropped her guard. She crossed over to the cot they had crushed and tilted it up on its side. **

**Sunny trotted over and hopped behind the bed with Candy. Willow joined them a moment later. he asked them, beckoning Blaze over. The green pony complied and skittered over. **

**Candy produced a small device with a single button and set it on the floor before her. t know about you, but I don She reached up and pushed Sunnyt good. No matter what, it would never be easy. Nothing could ever be easy. **

**Willow pushed the mattress aside and looked at the now-unlocked door. s the bingo call.**W-whyre going to come now!Well then let

**The four crept out into another hall, perfectly similar to the one they had left above. Like above, there was a door and a number every fifteen feet on either side. Candy pointed to a door at the far end of the hall and herded them forward. **

**Blaze jumped, then ran the exact opposite direction. **

**Sunny yelled. **

**Willow complained. **

**s take him with us,s voice. **

**The green buck sprinted to a red box on the wall and used the little hammer on a chain to break the glass. He mashed the button and a fire bell joined the drone of the alarm. Sprinkler heads popped out of the ceiling, hissing as water rushed through the pipes, and all the lights on the keycode panels for the confinement rooms blinked green. **

**Candy slumped as her mane soaked through and hung around her eyes. she glared up at the sprinklers. **

**Blaze dashed back up to them, sliding to a stop and splashing Candy and Sunny with more water. Candy looked like she wanted to grab him on either side of the head and squeeze. d you do that?**It opens the doors!Sorry,We have to go!Wish!Wish, let

**Sunnys left foreleg, then to the incision scars along her spine, neck, and belly. Once again, he was overwhelmed with a burst of anger and disgust towards the ponies would would do this. **

**Blaze reached up and grasped the mare by the shoulders. She only looked back at him blankly, her eyes wide and vacant. Sunny hardly registered as Candy and Willow filed in on either side of him. Something wasn**Please! Please, Wish! Come on!Blaze!s neck. Blood sprayed from the buckt move. What was happening was a sort of... horror, a nightmare.

Blaze managed to pull free and he stumbled backwards, blood pouring from the fatal wound in the side of his neck. **he asked, trembling. **

**The mare didn**Wish...T-they killed her,They...Celestia...We need to get out of here,This place... This place is ** Candy hollered, breaking the daze. Willow jumped, then grabbed Sunny by the mane and yanked him back into the hallway, where it was still raining. **

I can

**Willow nudged him forward, causing him to shy away from her. **

**Candy yelled from ahead, shoving a spluttering pony out of her way and smacking another that got too close to her. **

**Willow trotted forward and fell in beside the suited mare, giving her a tender look. t you, Candy. I know you. Just take it easy.**How do you know this isnt know ** She smiled a little. I know you.t reply. Sunny stifled his laughter with a cough. So it really had happened! Willow did swing both ways. He would have to tease her about it later, get back at her for all the teasing shet see a single pony with every turn in the hall apart from the occasional patient they**This is the was the way I originally planned us to go. You know, before we took the express route.t spotted s voice sounded from the lobby. s them! their little escapade was over. More noises and confused yells from the lobby. t come any further!t speaking of them.

t move!They must have spotted the ponies Sunny** She reached her head into the large vent and dragged out an assortment of bags, then a familiar-looking, black battle saddle. **

**Willow pranced forward happily. ve got my bags!**Quiet!They** She looked back to the pile of supplies and nuzzled out a white medical case. She flipped the lid and revealed a neat row of healing potions. **

**Sunny flinched as two gunshots sounded from outside. hollered a mare. **

**Candy motioned Sunny over and pointed to the battle saddle. **

**It was his old battle saddle, complete with the sleek carbine on the right and the shotgun on the left. **

**She slung the heavy device over his back and began fastening the straps. t going to keep the guards busy for long, and when they wrap up, it He fidgeted as he yanked one of his belly straps tight, then reached underneath him for the other one. **

**He jumped suddenly and yanked away, nearly knocking her over. He huffed a breath of air and took a slow intake. **

**Candy fed the strap around him and managed to shrug while doing it. **

**Willow gave Candy a contemplating look before levitating her saddlebags from the ground. It only took a her a moment to strap on the light set of bags. She hopped twice, testing to make sure it was secure. Levitating the white medical box towards her, she slipped it through a strap on the left and cinched it tight to the side of her bag. From one of the pockets, she produced her small, automatic pistol and strapped it to her inner foreleg. **

**There were more gunshots from outside, mixed with yells and screams. Sunny tried to ignore it, instead examining the battle saddle and taking comfort from its familiarity. He remembered the way Moon had said that it went well with his mane and allowed himself a small smile. He checked the load in each weapon and was pleased to find the rifle magazine full with fifteen rounds and the shotgun full with eight in the barrel. Taking each bit, he tested the safeties, then checked to make sure the lines were taught. **

**m ready,** of them actually, all crossing one another so it looked a little like a candy cane pinwheel.

Willow thumped him on the side of the head.

**He gave her a sheepish look. t seen her cutie mark yet.**You are too innocent, like those ponies out there are getting their rumps let them out to die, do you mean, too innocent?Because, that maret going to see a flank like that in a long time.s eyes were focussed: Somewhere around CandySo, are you saying I should be eyeballing her?Yeah, any normal stallion would. Heck, most mares normal stallion, , I forgot you like you really think I

**She shook her head. **

**Candy looked between the two of them impatiently. **

**Willow grinned behind her hoof. **

**Sunny dropped the smile and flipped off the safeties on the two weapons. s go then.**Since you have the big guns, Is ** She smirked. ll protect you from the bad ponies.**I donll be able to protect you from my hoof in your face.d seen her since her ordeal. It almost felt normal. Taking a deep breath, he reached forward and kicked open the door.

The lobby was in chaos. REA members, Bottle of Progress staff, and escaped patients ran around in a frenzy, attacking one another brutally. A red pony sprinted for the door with a cheer, only two have to bullet wounds blossom from his chest. He ran a few more feet and stumbled before dropping to the polished floor and sliding to a stop in a streak of blood.

A blue, uniformed mare beat a patient aside and came face to face with Sunny, eyes widening slightly. He lowered his head to her and mouthed the bit, giving her a clear warning. Her eyes shot to the bit for her battle saddle, but shone with the realization that she wouldnArmed target near

**She took a shotgun blast to the front and when down in a bloody heap. Sunny took a moment to balk at what he had just done. He had just killed a pony. This wasn**Sunny!Move!s desk and the mare taking cover there eeped.

t hurt me,Come out!You first!Never mind! Stay where you are!Would somepony help me out here?I

**Sunny peeked over the desk to see a row of ponies, all with guns trained on them. A thick stallion raised a powerful-looking rifle and Sunny jumped down again. A shot rang out like the blast of a canon and Sunny cried out as blood sprayed his face and front. **

**s hit!?**Damn,Got it!Special delivery!Special delivery?Those grenades suck! They didn

**Candy furrowed her brows at him and jumped as a bullet pitted the wall above her. t made to make a big boom, theyll shred you with shrapnel if you're close but they won't bring a roof down on your head.**Don** he complained to Candy, watching as a lock of his black mane fell to the floor, having been shot off. **

**m not about to go poking my head up to shoot it.**Forgot I had it.s eyes widened in realization and she skidded to a sideways halt, dropping the pistol. Sunny fired and the bullet struck her in the upper hind leg. She crumpled and went down like a sack of flour, letting out a strangled cry of pain.

Sunny felt terrible. What had Cotton been thinking? She wasnshe was a lab junkie. She had charged him with a pistol, and he had shot her. He watched as she dragged herself across the floor with her forehooves, trailing blood, eyes streaming while she cried in terror. To bash at his already quakey conscience, he was struck with a cruel but effective idea. He tried to shut the idea down, but it was the only thing he could think of.

**He jabbed the mare in the side to get her attention. He pointed at Cotton. **

**Willow looked the the crying, bleeding mare with skepticism, but nodded. Her horn glowed a dark-red and Cotton was dragged towards them, screaming. Once she was behind the safety of the counter, Sunny rolled her over with the rifle barrel, not wanting to touch her. **

**Cotton looked up at him, terror in her eyes. m sorry I experimented on you! Please, don she covered her face fearfully. **

**He bared his teeth at her. **

Answer the question!N-no,The REA owns the facility, Grayhooves and me just run her up.W-what?s forehooves and lifted her, much to CottonPut me down!All of you, hold your fire!s head. t,Please, for all of what you believe in, don

**Sunny said in the firmest tone he could muster. He hoped his bluff would hold t know that. Several metallic noises were coaxed from some of their rifles and Sunny felt his ears fold down. It wasn**Wait!Donwe need her!She has the passcodes to essential medical research that nopony else you sure nopony else knows them? It

**Grayhooves replied urgently. **

**She looked to Cotton. **

**There was a long, awkward silence. **

**Despite her grimaces of pain and the hitching of her breath, Cotton managed to produce a glare. m that stupid!? If I tell you, then you won't need me anymore, then youll shoot me!**Fuck you!Tell us!Shoot me!I** Grayhooves yelled to them. re losing years of medical information, not just modern research, but old data as wellve had since before the breakout.**Please,Put me down. It hurts. It us go, and she them ,There** He looked to the three anxious ponies and one terrified mare behind the check-in desk. s a good mare, but she **

**t walk,**She** he said to the ponies. ll give her the care she needs, but not here. If you dons going to die.**Could you carry her?rather awkwardlys back. Cotton screamed in agony as her leg twisted and the woundSorry about this,s head rolled around and she looked back Willow. Celestia,Shit... Kill me! Just kill me now!You aren** he said, sounding much bigger than he felt. The line of ponies parted as he and his friends left the counter and made their way to the door. All eyes were on them as they exited the building, out into the street. **

**Just to be safe, Willow closed the double doors behind them and bent the two steel handles around each other. **

**An injured and bleeding mare, a pegasus wearing two guns, a white mare covered in blood and another one that looked like a candy cane. They didn**Did you just break out of that testing place?Yep,Well... are you dangerous?s direction.

**The buck made distance between himself and Sunny, watching them from a distance. Sunny gave Willow a sour look. Now they were drawing looks from everywhere. Ponies watched fearfully from windows of from street corners, not scared enough to run but not brave enough to approach them. **

**Cotton groaned and shoved her face into Candy**I hate you ** he murmured. **

**Candy nodded. d noticed.**Look, we have to do something or this mare die. She I can feel it running down my 

**Sunny said in honest defense. re pretty lucky I missed.**Girth?Its vitals are.s eyes dawned in understanding.

**Willow asked with an irritated flick of her ears. **

**Candy shrugged. shoot there, She looked to Sunny. **

**He shrugged. t have been right to say belly.**Great,She just went as limp as a cooked she out?Yeah, we need to get her fixed.t think hethat was no reason to hate her... or shoot her... or kill her.

**a whispered voice called, the whisper proving to be rather loud. Sunny looked up, eyes darting around frantically. they voice repeated, a little louder this time. Sunny spotted the source of the call: a brown, unicorn stallion peeking out at them from the cracked lobby door of a multi-story apartment building. **

**He made a gesture with his hoof, just in case Sunny hadn**Well?Think it** Willow asked. **

**Candy added. **

**Sunny nickered. t have much of a choice.**Who are you?Did you really break out of Bottle of Progress?How do you know that?You three are all over the , what are you doing?Helping of Baltimare is going to be looking for you. You need a place to , what, are you some sort of thrillseeker or something?Pardon?Most ponies aren

**The stallion took a moment to reply, taking them up another flight of steps. s changed much. Anypony who made it out of there is a friend of mine.**Do you trust him?He seems genuine. Either way, I dons offering shelter and if what he said is true, we

**The stallion opened the door and beckoned them in quickly, throwing anxious glances both directions down the hall. When they were all in he slipped inside and slammed the door, sliding the deadbolt over and setting the chain lock. He took a deep breath and slicked back his mane. s not much, but it he said in a falsely-casual voice. **

**They were in a small, vintage-style apartment. The living room was combination of the dining room and there was a little walk-in kitchen behind the worn-down dining room table. The walls were clad with faded, wooden paneling and the carpet was a creme color, turned a little brown in the traffic areas from dirt and age. A short hallway led off from the living room, with two doors on either side and one at the end. **

**a charismatic stallion said from a small radio on the kitchen counter, **

**re home.**Have you been listening to the radio. ThereWhat the hay is this?Those are the ponies from the hospital, aren

They are!Surprise?You know...It was one thing when you tried to raise that baby manticore, or let that runaway stay here, but they

**Willow pulled Candy forward with her tail, past the green mare. she apologised, sounding not at all sorry. Candy lowered Cotton to the ground in front of a woven couch and Willow set to work. **

**re not felons,**You

**Sunny tried ignore the image in the corner of his eye; Willow digging in Cotton**They said the orange one was a murderer,Are you a murderer?Well... I did shoot a pony... Three ponies...I

**What had he done? That mare he had killed, she could have had a family, a very special somepony. And just like that, he had taken all of that away from her. He remembered the look in her eyes as clear as if he had taken a snapshot of her final moment. She was reaching for the bit on her battle saddle, but she knew it was of no use; the pony in front of her was readied. Her eyes had sunken with the realization a second before she had raised her head to yell**I** he repeated blankly. **

**The green mare motioned irritably in his direction. she snapped, rubbing in the fact that she was right. **

**Willow called to him, never taking her eyes off of Cotton. **

**In a sort of trance, he crossed the room to Willow and sat down beside her. **

**t a murderer. You were doing what needed to be done.**If anyponyve killed two ponies so far, and , you get to live with it. In a world filled with zombies, killing a pony doesn

**re not making me feel any better.**Give me those bandages,Well what do you suggest we do?I dons going to happen if we get caught with and I both know that the army doesn

**Willow yelled to Candy. **

**The mare jumped into action and pressed down on Cotton**Can you save her?Maybe,If I had blood for a transfusion, then yes. But whatever she loses here, she isn't getting back!We can** the brown stallion yelled. ll be killed!**And if well be killed!Please, up! Complete silence. **he said, taking a deep breath. He was practically screaming as he continued. He stood stiff as a board, breathing heavily, face burning. **

**Willow looked up from tilting a healing potion down Cotton**Damn... .Fine. But don

**The stallion**Done,I

**s hope she makes it,**She

**Willow sat back approvingly and pointed to a bloody and slightly-mushroomed bullet sitting on a small tray. **

**He glared at her. re funny.**I know you feel bad about shooting for you look tired. I thought you had zombie strength?Pffft!Sure, but I still get tired. Im gonnam gonna take a shower and get this blood off me.I donve changed. Since those stallions... Ill see a pony, and Ill imagine that I did ** he said with as much comfort in his tone as he could muster with his sour mood. Candy sat a little ways away, head turned away but ears perked. **

**Willow sniffed again, making a little sound in her throat. t know if I **

**Sunny swallowed. t know what to say.t at all like, and she smiled up to him. t have to worry. You **

**He blinked and kneaded the carpet with his forehooves. **

**She blushed a little. re the only pony I trust. I know you won **

**He positively balked at her. he said, a little louder than he had intended. He shuddered. She was asking him... She wanted him! he repeated for emphasis. **

**Willow rolled onto her belly, her face sunken and eyes shining with hurt. Tears were now flowing freely and Sunny winced like he had been struck. he improvised desperately in an attempt to save himself. t like you that way.**I

**He went to place his hoof on her shoulder, but stopped right above. t even touch a pony without trembling. How could I possibly **

**Willow jumped to her hooves, nearly sobbing and shaking with anger. **

**Sunny didnt even been the one to build the delicate emotional tower. t just expect me to follow up something like that. Im... I **

**One second, Sunny was looking into Willows hoof was meeting his face. Stunned, he lay flat on bis back with his head ringing like a bell. Willow stood over him, face teeming with so many emotions he couldn**I hate you, Sunny!You

**She went for another kick, but stopped herself. She let out a strangled scream and turned away, stomping off down the hall. She opened the door to the bathroom at the end of the hall and slammed it shut behind her hard enough to crack the molding. **

**the green mare whispered. **

**Candy glared at Sunny from where he recovered on the ground. She placed her hoof on Cotton to make sure the mare was okay, then refocused on Sunny. **

**He cringed, pushing back to his hooves and massaging his muzzle. s hard to explain... She asked me to do something I can **

**The green mare looked over to what Sunny could now safely call her husband and smiled triumphantly. s got to fix the molding over the bathroom door? And scrub the blood out of the carpet.** ?You know, Willow likes you.I know she likes me, but

**she interrupted. **

**he asked, feeling as the color drained from his face. **

**t you seen the way she looks at you, Sunny? How she was so protective of you in the skywagon?**No. No, she can

**Candy pressed. s an emotional train wreck. Sunny, Willow isns it; theyt fall for ponies, but she fell for you.**No! She canm a terrible pony to care for. I dont. She might as well be chasing her own ever know.I dont like them back and somepony always ends up getting hurt!Shut up!s voice rasped loudly from the next apartment. m tryin

**Candy shot back sharply. **

I am not ready for anything with anypony. I am not ready emotionally and I sure as hay can

**She gave him a sad look. t know it yet...**You best hope Moon and Willow get along if you ever meet up with your friends 

**re going to have two mares gunning for you, and itt going to win.**Kill me, , Willow really needs a friend right now. She told me what happened to her while we walked. She needs somepony to be there for her; at least be that.I , you don** He looked her straight in the eye. re afraid that theyt; you want to let ponies touch you, to... to be with them, but you cans days when even thinking about it almost makes me throw up.**So no, you don

**Sunny stood in the dark of the apartment outside the door to the guest room where Willow had taken refuge. He could hear her faint whimpers from inside, and a faint light escaped from below the door. **

**Candy and Cotton lay asleep on the couch. Candy had hoofcuffed herself to the wounded mare. Sunny allowed himself a small grin at the thought. Cotton Candy. Funny. **

**He took a shaky breath. Was he really about to do this? He wasn**What do you want?I** he said after a moment. **

**Willow dropped her head back to the bed and looked up at the ceiling. t apologise. It do, then got mad at you for it.**I said I hate you... I don

**He plodded slowly up to the guest bed. t hate me.**Yeah...I know,Candy told , now you know.t bear to see Willow this way. She was always the strong-minded and strong-headed one. She was the one that seemed to keep everything going. Having her like this... This wasn this was some scared, insecure pony in WillowWhen did it start?In the hospital, in Desert Sage. You were so cute in confinement. It was like watching a puppy in a box. You were just so energetic. Then I got to checking you every day while you were in your self-induced coma. It was my fault you almost died, and I felt responsible for you. You... you started to grow on that long?I figured you** She stopped, needing to say no more. **

**t taken to Moon?**Because I cans this fear I have. Im afraid something will happen, and they

**Her eyes brightened the tiniest bit. **

**He placed his forehooves on the bed to look at her. **

**She flinched like he**I don** She shifted hesitantly, looking at him with contemplation. **

**Sunny thought for a long while, examining the bedspread. Willow didn**I can try to help. But I cant, do anything have trouble touching ponies... You sound like me.** She was quiet for a long moment, just looking at him. She shifted, drawing her legs in close. **

**He swallowed. ll try... What do you need me to do?**Just... put your hoof on you sure I have to do this?I think I

**s a nice thought.t jump away like the mare was electric. Unlike Willow, who was only stable touching a pony, he was the exact opposite. Touching another pony purposefully was even worse than being touched. Still, his nerves screamed and a familiar itch filled his mind. **

**Willow tensed and she looked up at him, eyes momentarily clouded in fear. She blinked, then the fear was gone, instead replaced with uneasiness. She closed her eyes tight as Sunny slid his hoof to her middle. **

**Sunny tried to take deep breaths. He was insane; he was absolutely mad. Touching another pony, what was he thinking? His self-conscious screamed for him to pull away, but his determination and dedication to Willow urged him to hold strong. **

**Willow had begun to shake, her eyes pinched tight shut, hooves churning the bedspread. he asked worriedly. **

**Willow squeaked. She cleared her throat, then spoke in a voice closer to her own. No. Don **

**Sunny felt that if he got any more uncomfortable, something in his brain would snap and all of his emotions would flatline. He watched, almost in a trance, as his hoof reached Willow **

**Willow whimpered and he tensed. After a moment, he resumed, setting his hoof lightly on her haunches, right next to her scalpel and and and needle cutie mark. **

**Suddenly, Willow jumped and he ducked just in time for her hoof to whoosh over his head. Willow rolled to her hooves, snarling. She took another swing at him and he didn**Sunny, are you alright? I

**Shakily, he climbed to his hooves, trying to fight the bad case of tunnel vision which was overwhelming him. He tried to put weight on his leg but his shoulder screamed, so he held it a little off the ground. **

**m sorry. I don**I hooves are like . Not doing that really uncomfortable right the most uncomfortable you can feel, then multiply that by ten. Whenever I touch somepony, it literally hurts my brain. It hurts, mentally... if that makes any , do you think you

**She hung her head over the edge of the bed. d like to say no, but Im... afraid of what Im not ready for it... I know exactly what it iss traumatic recall. Touch brings back the memories.**Well, I** He trotted to the door. **

**Willow called quietly. She looked at him sheepishly. She folded her ears. **

**He smiled lightly and sat down in front of the door. **

**Willow fell back and tossed him a pillow. **

**He grabbed the pillow and positioned himself comfortably. he asked, yawning. t like being unofficially in-charge.**I don

**Sunny sighed into the pillow. **

**Two stallions walked slowly through the dark undergrounds. Their two sets of hoofsteps echoed ominously from the tiled concrete walls, setting them both on edge. A steady drip of water leaked from a cracked pipe along the length of the ceiling, serving as some sort of cruel palindrome. **

**Both stallions were clad in official REA uniform and sported the standard issue carbine and battle saddle. It was only of dead unluckiness and a mischarged spark battery that only the one walking on the righthad a working saddle lamp. The light was mounted to the left side of his battle saddle, opposite of the rifle. Due to the fact that the REA was scraping the bottom of their ornamental barrel, these lamps weren't exactly quality; they werens lamp had been fashioned from a running light of a crashed skywagon and wired to lead-acid battery which he had to lug around like some sort of exercise weight. Lead-acid batteries were a thing only found in the beforetimes of magical energy storage and production, and worked at about twenty percent of the efficiency of a modern spark battery half its size. **

**The one with the light looked to the blue pony on his left, who hovered just a little out of the lamplight. Although his whisper had been quiet, it filled the tunnels almost as if he had yelled. **

**They both froze for a moment, listening. Blue looked to Red and breathed slowly through his nose. They started forward again, passing dirty benches lain in a square around a tiled support pillar. He glared at a moldy sign as they passed it. **

**Red shone his light over a few benches and a stucco trashcan. re called subways. The city of Baltimare had them built three years ago. Its a whole system of underground railways. The rails were electrified back when they pumped power down here. For a while they tried the rechargeable spark battery design in the engines, but it was too inefficient. The only trains with onboard power sources are the money trains.**Money trains?Armoured train cars. The best way to take money across the city was to transport it underground. They put old-tech gem generators on them in case there was a power 

**He clicked his tongue. He shone his light along the length of a train car as they walked. In a way, it resembled a train, but had no stack or boiler. The resemblance was of a box on wheels, but the roof was rounded and rippled aluminum siding ran its length. **

**Blue squinted. **

**Red stood a little straighter. s central district officer in transportation affairs. To be honest, I liked it all a lot more ten years ago, before all these advances in technology and industry. There was hardly any crime, no skyscrapers. Ponies were more interested in being ponies than trying to fill a bathtub with bits.**Yeah, yeah,Why the hay are we on patrol down here? I mean, nopony ever comes down here. Whats like saying, re boned because you canThat

**Blue returned the smile. the two shared a hoof-bump. **

**With a certain casual stiffness, the two made their way along the length of the train car. The side and doors were inscribed with a big , the two letters blending decoratively with each other. Blue rapped on the aluminum siding. **

**Red shone his light away from the path and through the windows of the car, which had began to collect dust. t been out of commision for very long. If you supplied them with power then they He continued to examine the car, noticing smears in the dust on the windows. he asked at Blue**Did you

**He was gone... Red spun left, then right, frantically shining the powerful lamp around the platform tunnel. he whispered loudly. m going to tear you a new flank if you are.t let him. Shaking, he slowly panned his light to the roof above. **

**Jack**Run,s back and tear out his spine with a crunch and a squelching sound. The pony went limp and blood showered from above.

He fought the darkness at the edges of his vision and instead got a terrible case of jitters. One of the three looked down at him with its fangs, flaring a pair of leathery, decayed wings.

Red screamed and bolted, unable to use his weapon on anything on the roof. He heard the hisses of the creatures behind him as they took chase and ran faster, praying to Celestia that his hooves not falter. The light on his back picked up more movement ahead and he skidded to a halt, hyperventilating in fear. Improvising quickly, he ran to the train car beside him and tried to pry open the hydraulic doors. There were more sounds behind him and he expected a sharp pain in his back any second now. **he cried. **

**He managed to shove through the crack he had opened in the doors, but lost his carbine on the way in. Not daring to spend an extra second to retrieve it, he forced the doors closed again. He breathed heavily, jaw trembling. His voice came out in a little more that a squeak. It was quiet now, unnerving so soon after the traumatizing experience. **

**Cautiously, he crept up to the window. Were they gone? He caught a flash of red eyes before they crashed into the window, sending a wave of spiderweb cracks through the glass and shaking the whole car. He fell back, heart racing faster than a rabbitt enough. **

**The end of the car was nearing nows place. There was no way back now, the train completely obstructed the tunnel and those things were still back the way he had come. He fired three more of the high caliber revolver rounds and struck two more down. **

**No way back, no way forwards. The realization of the situation dawned on him. No way back, no way forwards... He drew back the hammer of the revolver and turned it on himself. One of the monsters looked down at him from the window of the train car and bared its fangs. More crept along the roof. **

**The stallion reached back and flipped off the lamp, letting the battery die with a whine. **

**A lightning bolt of muzzle flash filled the tunnel, then all was quiet.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Y'all just keep your eyes open now," Dusty murmured quietly, eyeing the city ahead out the cab window of the locomotive. The cool air whipped his mane and ruffled his coat, cooling the burning sensation under his skin. "Ah don't know exactly how this is goin' to go." Canterlot appeared as a sort of beacon, and a terrifying one at that. The city had grown much in the years. More platforms had been built upon the side of the mountain, bridges and platforms connecting large sections of the suspended city. The original palace and courtyard still remained in the center of the city, hardly even seen amongst the towering, new-age buildings surrounding it. Most of the upper mountain was now a maze of streets and large buildings. Canterlot had grown in the years, and it had grown fast. The tracks they traveled upon curved on ahead through a semi-residential neighborhood, just on the outskirts of the suspended city. There was a fair count of houses, but apartment buildings were beginning to pop up here and there, the owners probably having been in the process of buying out the whole neighborhood. The dawn was still in it's earliest stages, the sun not having risen yet from the east, in this case, the right. The amber lamp of the locomotive cut a path through the early blue, shining off broken windows of houses and abandoned wagons. The morning was one of pure tranquility; even the normal chugging of the locomotive seemed quelled, as if it knew not to disturb the peace. A single zombie watched dumbly as the engine passed, it's eyes alight with the glow of the lamp as its head tracked them around a casual bend. Snowglobe leaned into the pegasus' side as he gazed out the window, nuzzling his shoulder. "Don't worry, Dusty, we'll make it." "Yeah," he said distantly. "Yeah... we will." The gray mare at his side filled him with a sort of joy, but he really wished she'd stop. "Dusty," Moon said quietly, taking his other side. "What's the plan?" He stared at the monstrous towers of Canterlot for a moment, then looked away to Moon. It took him a minute to form what he was going to say, brain moving a bit sluggishly. "Right, well, uh... Let's see here. Ah've been on this line before. Once the tracks enter the city, we hit an elevated track. After a while they drop and run underground until you reach a railyard near the edge of the industrial district. That's where we'll take on water and coal. Then it's just a short run through a switching station an' another neighborhood. We cross a bridge, an' we're out of the city." He nodded to himself. "We should be fine through it all as long as we don't stop an' we keep the zombies off the train." Moon gave a quick nod and headed for the coal tender. "I'll go tell the others." Snowglobe waited for Moon to leave before she spoke again. "Dusty, what's wrong?" She looked over at him worriedly. He shook his head. "Nothin'." "Now don't lie," she persisted. "Looking at you is almost making me feel down. Now, what's wrong?" He shook his head again, hardly even noticing Snowglobe anymore. His mind swirled, filling with old memories and thoughts. He let them drift. -ooOoo- He had experienced this daydream before, many times before. If he could have sighed, he would have. It felt the same as reading an old story you've read a hundred times before, but you could never close the book. The book had to be read. It was a cloudy day, one greatly appreciated by the farmponies; protection from the searing heat of the sun was always well-welcomed in the fields, especially now, when there were apples to be bucked, carrots to be picked, and fields to be tended. A young, blue pegasus watched with boredom from the second story window of the farmhouse at the working fieldhands—some of them his brothers and sisters—as they busied about in the fields. He smoothed his dusty-brown mane back, keeping it out of his eyes, and continuously furled and unfurled his wings. He glared back at the feathery appendages and muttered a curse. Stupid wings. The things on his back marked him as different, as useless. For his whole life he had lived here, but hopefully not for much longer. Thoughts of leaving, of making a life for himself, clouded his mind. What would it take? What would it take to just up and walk out that door, to never come back? Guts said go, but smarts said stay; it was all a matter of which one called stronger. The door to the quadruple-bunkbed room burst open and two young colts charged in, laughing and jumping at one another. They both stopped as they spotted Dusty, and the red one on the left glared at him from behind. "Aren't you supposed to be outside helping?" he asked rudely. "Yeah," the other added — a brown colt. "It is harvest season in case you don't remember, and everyone older has to help." Dusty ignored them. "Oh yeah," the red one chimed. "He doesn't like to go outside because then he has to work and be around the others." "You mean he has to try to work." They both snickered. "You both shut it!" Dusty snapped back at them. "What?" the red one asked. "It's not my fault you're a pegasus when the rest of us are earth ponies." "Boys!" a deep mare's voice yelled from downstairs. "Leave your brother alone, if he wants to be useless then let him be useless all by himself!" "Fine, Mom," they both groaned in unison. "Go find a cloud to run away to," the red one hissed as he made for the door. "I don't care if Dad likes you, you don't fit in right." Dusty, being in a particularly bad mood at the moment, spun and lunged at them. The blue one dodged backwards as Dusty butted the red one and tacked him to the ground. "One more word from you an' ah'll beat you so hard you'll wish Dad'd take up hard cider again!" "Sky!" screamed the mare downstairs. "Knock that off right now or I'll tell your father." "Go on an' tell him!" he yelled back. "I dealt with you for too long! Ah'm leavin'!" He picked his half-cowering brother up off the floor and tossed him into one of the bunkbeds. "Ah don't get no respect here!" The idea had been on his mind for months now, years even. Even as the words left his own mouth, he was shocked, shock that came with the little rush of adrenaline that urged one to hold strong. It was unknown how or why he had finally decided, but the deciding was done. "Sky, you better stop being how you're being!" "Oh yeah sure, like ah can just do that!" he shot back, storming out into the hallway. The wallpaper was a striped yellow and brown. Luckily, most of it was covered by family portraits or trinkets, and in one case, a giant wagon wheel. "And stop callin' me Sky!" he added. "Ah like bein' called Dusty!" "Now you listen here, Sky! You're using the name I gave you whether or not you like it!" "The hay I will!" He kicked the banister as he rounded to the stairs, nearly tripped, regained himself, then stomped down the stairs. Flaring his wings, he shook free a few ruffled feathers. "You're going to wake your father!" she yelled in a voice loud enough to wake the dead. "Good!' he screamed back, equally loud. "Maybe then he'll beat some sense into you!" As he reached the bottom of the stairs, a brown mare darted out of the kitchen hall and barred his path to the front door, which was about fifteen feet away across the entryway. "You always were trouble!" she snarled. "I told your father you would ruin this family, but would he listen? Of course not! If it had been my choice, I would have left you in a ditch for the wild hogs!" Dusty rolled his eyes at her. This was her normal rant; he had heard it before. She would always start off with how she knew he would be bad, and how his father was an idiot for not listening. Then she would go on and rant about his physical limitations, and then it would just go on and on and on. A dark-brown mare with a dark green mane and tail so dark that it appeared black in the shade, poked her head into the entryway from the sitting room. "What's going on?" "Nothing, Dearie," said Mother with forced kindness. The dark brown mare glared. "I'm older than Dusty; why are you still calling me dearie?" "It's Sky, Honey." The mare smiled. "You call him Sky." Dusty flared his nostrils. "Why don't you talk to Yew like she's a pony instead of just some kid." Yew was his sister, birthed closest to him back in his mother's busy years. She had age on him by about a year. "—you never help on the fields. You're not strong enough to do anything useful around here," she went on. "You can't handle a plow. You can't pull a cart." There it was. He groaned internally. "It's because I'm a pegasus!" He had told her this countless times, but the idea that he was different never would seem to sink in for her. "Ah don't have the strength that earth ponies do because ah'm supposed to fly. How am I supposed to fly if I'm built like a tank with legs?" She nodded her head in agreement. "That's exactly why I told your father not to keep you." Yew stepped out into the entryway, scowling a little. "Why don't you leave him alone. I'm tired of hearing you rip on him every other day." Dusty blinked. This was not part of the routine. He looked to his sister, the only pony—besides his father—who hadn't shown hostility towards him for his uselessness. "Ah'd stay out of this if I were you." She stepped determinedly up beside her mother. "She doesn't need to talk to you like that." His mother shot Yew the worst of glares. "You want to be in the pen with your useless brother? Well go right ahead! See if I care." The whole house shook as a door slammed down the hall behind the stairs. "What in the name a' Celestia herself is all that damned screamin'!?" A large, amber earth pony stomped his way into the entryway, tired eyes glaring around at the three ponies before him. "All you ponies screamin' just ruined any sleep ah'm gettin' today." "Talk to your son about it," the mare said heatedly. "He says he leaving. Well I say it's about time. All he ever does is sit around and eat our—" "Get out of here an' leave these two alone," he gruffed dangerously, giving her a warning look. "Ah'll talk to him." The mare huffed, but kept her brains about her and stalked off towards the kitchen. The large stallion looked at Yew next, who now stood a little unsurely. "You too," he said lightly, still holding an air of intimidation to his voice. "Ah need to talk to Dusty alone." Yew nodded at his command and made herself disappear. He looked to Dusty last. "Come with me." Dusty chewed his lip. "Dad, I—" "Keep it shut. Come with me." "Okay." Dusty hung his head, falling in behind his father as the elder stallion made down the back hall. His father opened the door to the very back room—Dad's sitting room—and beckoned the worried pegasus in. Inside this medium-sized room were several rugs and painted pictures of landscape. The walls were brown, almost blending in the the cushions placed on the floor. Dusty's father sat near the far wall and Dusty took a seat across from him, shifting nervously. He had only been called into this room twice before, and both times he had left unable to sit for a week. Dusty eyed his father nervously as the amber pony settled comfortably and gave him a long look, as if sizing him up. "So, ah heard that argument with your mother," he stated matter-of-factly. Dusty knew that the opening was rhetorical, and waited for the next part. "So, is true what you said?" he asked, not with anger, nor disappointment, just with simple calmness. "You really thinkin' of up an' leavin'?" Dusty thought his response over carefully before replying. "Well, Pa... It's just that ah don't fit in at all. You know ah don't get any respect around here except from my older sister." He laughed with tension. "If she could, Mom'd stop feedin' me." The stallion tilted his head to the right, then left. "Ah can see what you mean. So you're sayin' you want to leave then?" "Well..." Dusty examined the stitching in the rug. "It's not like ah ever wanted to leave you all, but... Ah just don't fit in here an' ah just don't see any point in hangin' around a place where everypony glares at me like ah'm dirt." Shaking his head, Dusty's father looked up towards the ceiling, eyes filled with resilience. "There's somethin' ah should prob'ly tell you that ah been puttin' off for a long time now, longer than ah should have let it go. If you really are fixin' to leave, ah need to tell you before you head out." He ran a hoof through his whitening, mud-brown mane. Finally, he looked back to Dusty. "You ain't my son." Dusty blinked. "W-what?" He shook his head again. "Ah never told you because ah didn't think you'd be able to take it. It pains me deeply to say this, but you aren't my kid." "B-but how? Why?" Dusty stumbled for something reasonable to say. This was a bigger kick in the face than that time a cow had kicked him in the face, figuratively speaking. His father groaned, looking at his confused not-son. "Ah know exactly where all my kids came from, and when ah made them. Ah know that your mother started bloomin', but it wasn't from me. Ah been watchin'; ah only ever had ten kids, an' you make the unmade number seven." "Well then what... How did she—" "Some time, when ah must have been away, your mother got around back in town. You see, she never liked you because you were her mistake. You're evidence of her biggest screwup that she thinks ah may or may not know about. Now she don't know that ah know, and ah plan to keep it that way." He breathed through his lips. "That's why you ain't brown like the rest of us, an that's why you're not an earth pony." Dusty found himself, not sad or crushed, but angry, but he bit his lip and held his tongue. "So are you telling me that... that this whole time ah was just an... accident?" Having all of this thrown out onto the table now was terrible. It was like being told your coat was a different color, then looking down and actually finding it that color. The old stallion stood up and approached Dusty. "Your mother may have gone and broken my heart, but ah'm glad she did." He placed one hoof on Dusty's shoulder and gave the closest thing he could ever give to a smile, a sort of half-leer. "Ah don't care if you didn't come from me. You're my son, an' ah still love you all the same." Dusty smiled up at his father. "Thanks, Pa." "Now, ah know you want to leave, an ah can't blame you. I ain't gonna' lie, there ain't really no place for you here, an' after what you just heard... You can go if you want, but ah'm gonna miss you if you leave." Dusty sighed. "Ah'm really sorry, Pa, but ah just can't stay, especially after what ah just finished yellin' to Mom." The old pony gave a single nod. "Ah understand... You best be goin' then." He motioned towards the door. Dusty stood up and made to turn for the door, not feeling the whole goodbye thing, but his father made a sudden movement, motioning for him to stay. The rough pony trotted over to a faded trunk and pulled open the lid. He rummaged around inside for a second and emerged. He closed the trunk and turned back, carrying a leather sheath. "You should prob'ly take this. The city may be safe for a colt like you but the lands around here sure aren't. You'll need some sort of protection." Dusty's eyes went wide. "Is that a gun?" He had only seen pictures of them in newsprint articles left over from his father's readings. The stallion nodded. "Sure is. Bought it a couple months ago, you know, when those engineer ponies first started makin' em'. Figured maybe ah'd use it on that feller' your mother slept with." He laughed twice and sighed. "That was a bad joke..." He shook his head. "Nevermind that. Ah want you to have it." Dusty took the weapon and pulled it out of its holster. It was a revolver—silver with a stained redwood handle and ivory bit. His eyes drank in the sights of it for a moment more before he forced himself to shove it back into the holster. "Gee, Pa, ah can't take this." "I ain't lettin' you leave unless you take it." He took the weapon back and looked it over. "Besides, ah haven't named it yet an' ah figured that'd be your job." Dusty nodded. "Yeah... ah think ah might have a good name for it." "Well then, Son." He patted Dusty on the shoulder again. "If you're bent on leavin', then you best be off. Ah hope we can see each other again someday." Dusty took the holster and strapped it to his right foreleg, frowning at the new weight. "Thanks, for everythin', Pa. Thanks for bein' there for me, most of the time, even if ah wasn't really your kid." "Was the least ah could do." He sat down and breathed a slow breath, examining one of the paintings on the walls. "Ah think it's best if ah don't escort you off." "Right." He turned towards the door and gulped. "Until we meet again." Without another word, he left his father's room and closed the door quietly behind him. Turning down the hallway, he came face-to-face with Yew. "Were you listenin' outside the door?" he asked irritably. She moved out of his way as he pushed past, and walked beside him. "Only for that very last part." She flushed. "So, what happened. Why do you have a gun?" "Ah'm leavin'," he replied shortly. She gave him a hard look. "You're leaving?" A single nod. "Yep." She nudged him and pointed towards the revolver strapped to his leg. "Well, where'd you get that?" "Pa gave it to me." Dusty wanted to shoo her way. He could sense what was coming next; Yew's body language screamed it. "Well I'm coming with you." He stopped in the entryway to look back at her. "No, you aren't. Ah can't let you come with me." She circled around and sat down in front of the door. "I'm not letting you leave without me." Dusty stomped a hoof. "You're staying here." He tried to push past her, but she barred his way. "I said you aren't leaving without me." He tried to sneak past the other side of her, but she pushed him back. "You're going to have to shoot me if you want to leave without me, otherwise you're going to have me dragging behind by your tail." "Yew, please don't—" "I'm not changing my mind. I've stuck by your side since you were born. I'm not about to let you walk off without me. Dusty nodded in defeat. He skirted her and crossed through the front door, exiting out onto a faded porch. Yew followed triumphantly right behind. He shook his head. All of this was happening so fast. It all still seemed like a dream. Their mother glared at them front the edge of the porch where she had been overlooking one of the fields. "I hope your father beat some sense into you." Dusty turned towards her, the rage of his discoveries all pouring over. "You cheatin', lyin', whore!" he spat, bearing his teeth at her. Yew's eyes widened beside him and she took a step back. Before she could respond, he stomped forwards and kicked open the partition door, Yew in tow. "Do you know where we're going?" Yew asked as they left the farmhouse, and their screaming mother behind. Dusty looked to the horizon ahead. "Nope." -ooOoo- "Hello, Dusty? You okay?" Snowglobe looked at him worriedly. "Yeah," he replied hastily, taking up an alert stance. He let out a long breath, watching as it steamed ever so slightly in the cool air. "Ah was just thinkin'." Snowglobe crossed the cab and sat down in front of the firebox for warmth. "Anything special?" Dusty looked out into the barely-dawn. "No. Nothing special." He peered out the window at the ground below as the locomotive thundered quietly over a bridge. "Where is everypony?" "What do you mean?" "Ah bet Canterlot had close to a million ponies. So far, ah think ah've seen maybe two zombies. There's no way they all got out." The engine gave a shudder and the steel groaned. "There there girl." Dusty patted the side of the cab lightly, frowning up at a tear of steel in the roof. "She took quite a beatin' from those griffons." Snowglobe looked up to the gauges, frowning slightly at them. "Anything bad?" "Sort of. They managed to do some sort of damage to the smokebox. We also have a leak somewhere, but ah can't exactly go climbin' inside the thing to check for it under steam." The bridge gave way to an elevated track, carrying them further into the city. "Ah haven't been here in four years," Dusty muttered, looking out over the city again. "A lot has changed." Snowglobe looked around. "How?" He snorted. "For one, ah remember how the buildin's used to be fifty feet tall and not five-hundred." "It's crazy how fast the market took off." Dusty nodded once, slowly. "Yeah, and it's scary how fast it all fell apart." There was a heavy clang from the engine and a sound like a mortar shell, followed by a loud hiss of steam. Dusty jumped and nearly levitated over to the hotseat. "Horeseapples, what now?" A quick examination of the gauges told them they were losing steam, and fast. He cut off steam, growling to himself. Snowglobe materialized by his side. "What is it?" He shook his head. "We burst somethin'..." He slammed his hooves down on the hoofplate. "Ah knew it couldn't go easy!" Snowglobe frowned at the gauges. "Well, can we fix it?" "Maybe. It all depends on where it is and your skill." He looked over into Snowglobe's deadpan expression. "Yeah, we can fix it." With every rotation of the wheels, there was a hiss and a clank that did not accompany the engine well. Loathingly, Dusty set the brakes, listening to the squeal of the wheels on the tracks as the engine slowed. The cars in tow banged together with the sudden deceleration and engine lurched slightly. Moon burst out of the first carriage and scaled the coal tender. "What's happening?" She held her shotgun aloft, ready for anything. "Put that thing down," Dusty said irritably. "Somethin's went wrong with the engine." He set the brakes, the action accompanied by another hiss. The blue unicorn tossed her head about frantically. "This is a really bad place to be stopped." The engine groaned to a halt, momentum killed by the slight upwards slope in combination with the brakes. The pipes hissed tiredly and steel groaned. The amber lamp dimmed slightly, no longer overcharged by the generator mounted atop the boiler. Dusty crossed to the edge of the cab and peered down. "We're in a better spot than most." They had stopped upon the elevated track, about fifty feet up in the air. A small office building sat directly below. The track creaked a little under the weight of the locomotive, and Dusty found himself trying to recall the weight ratings of these tracks. "Well." Snowglobe retrieved her saddlebags from the floor of the cab and slung them over her back. "We might as well see what our problem is." She made to the back of the cab and descended the staircase aside the coal tender. Dusty once again looked around at the surrounding buildings. His eyes were drawn to something a little peculiar this time. A six story apartment building stood about a quarter mile away, but it wasn't necessarily the building which had caught his attention. A series of sheets had been hung over the top banister of the building, each with their own letter painted on them in black paint. 'HELP US' As far as he could tell, the building was deserted, but at one point, ponies had been there. Pushing the thought to the side of his mind, he followed Snowglobe down the the maintenance walk alongside the track. The two walked slowly along the right side of the engine, looking over the many pipes and seams. Dusty remembered something and gave his head a little shake. "Moon, pull the big handle on the roof back a little ways." "Okay," called Moon, her voice a little muffled. There was the sound of the lever from the cab and a hiss of steam through the pipes. One pipe in particular along the engine's length rattled and the burst of steam revealed what Dusty could easily identify as a leak. "Okay," Dusty yelled back to Moon. "Kill it!" The leak was above the first piston and a little ways back. Picking up the pace a little, he overtook Snowglobe and half-galloped to the spot. He allowed himself to balk at the sight. This must have been from when they had skimmed the mountainside. Although the engine could handle the corners, it still wasn't exactly certified for them anymore. On the way up they had brushed the mountainside, but he hadn't thought anything of it. Just behind the smokebox, the boiler casing had been dented and distorted. Dusty whistled. That alone could have proved fatal had the boiler been compressed. More scrapes and little dents ran along the side, the second worst case proving to be a split in the steel. The real problem was the pinched pipes just above the wheels. It was all coming together now. They had pinched the pipes, and one had finally blown from pressure. The others would have followed the first shortly. "Wow," Snowglobe muttered, falling in beside him. "That's pretty bad." Dusty shook his head. They had fought of zombies and griffons alike, but it had been nothing more than a rock that had crippled them. "Think you can fix that?" he said lowly. Snowglobe examined her cutie mark, an adjustable wrench crossed with a bolt of electricity. "Not my specific specialty, but yes." She looked back to the twisted steel, then groaned. "But it's going to take a long time. I'm going to have to let the metal cool, then I'm going to have to find a way to straighten the damage and seal—" She cut herself off and nickered. "A long time, like, twelve hours." Dusty patted the side of the locomotive. "You did your best." "What's going on?" Moon called from the cab. "We're goin' to be here for a while!" Dusty yelled back. The mare pulled her head into the cab and ran around to the staircase. Dusty watched with a half-smile as she cantered up to him. "What do you mean?" Dusty pointed to the damage and said no more. Moon shifted her stance worriedly, eyes sharp. "Here, we're broken down here?" "Damnit!" Snowglobe swore, kicking the wheel. She hopped away with a little eep and held her sore hoof off the ground. "The connecting rod is damaged." She leaned forward and propped her head on the cylinder housing. "Make that a day." She stood straight again and looked at the two flatly. "I need my tools... the big ones." Dusty cocked a brow at her. "You seem a bit on-edge." She nodded shamefully. "Of course I am. We're on an elevated track in the middle of Canterlot with a broken-down engine. I think I have good reason to be a little stressed." She pushed past Moon and Dusty and headed back towards the cab. "I mean, we're in the middle of Canterlot; where the hay are all the zombies? This is honestly freaking me out." Dusty followed a little behind her. "Yeah, it's odd all right." He winced as a bolt of pain shot through his head. He closed his eyes and it was gone as fast as it had come. With a little more effort than should've been required, he climbed back up into the cab. "Might was well tell everypony to take this time to rest." Snowglobe said to Moon with a sigh. "We've got some down time." "Hey you two," Dusty interrupted, rubbing the side of his head irritably. "There's a sign on that apartment building over there, an' for some reason ah really want to go check it out. You all can handle your own for a while without me, right?" Moon frowned and scrunched her brow, but nodded. Snowglobe, however, gave him a glare. "You want to leave?" He pointed towards the distant building. "Yeah, see that help-us sign? Ah'm thinkin' there may be ponies there." "Well why do you have to go?" He sighed, wishing the mare would stop questioning him. "Somethin's just tellin' me ah should go. You know how you get that feelin' in you, an' it just feels right?" The gray mare gave him a long look, as if she were sizing him up. "Make sure you come back. You taught me how to work this engine, but I'm still not confident about it." She smiled. "Besides, I still haven't given you your reward for not dying." His heart took a painful plummet. "Yeah... ah'll come back." He looked over at Moon and she pursed her lips, giving him a prying look. "Ah'll try not to be long." He flared his wings, which were surprisingly sore, and shook loose a few feathers. Without another word, he trotted to the back of the cab and jumped, taking to the skies. The cool air whipped his face and coat, chilling him. Everything seemed so tranquil, as if in mourn of future events. He looked to the building. It wasn't too far. The flight would be short. -ooOoo- "Would you stop playing with that thing?" Yew scolded, giving Dusty an annoyed look. The colt holstered the revolver grudgingly and looked around their small camp. "Sorry, ah'm just bored." He ducked a flame from the campfire as it spiraled off into the night. "Stop bein' so bossy." Although Yew was only a year older than Dusty, she was pulling off the mother role pretty well. "Well, that's not too big of a deal here, but you can't just go pulling that thing out in public." She laughed once. "A colt with a gun. What was Dad thinking?" Dusty shook his mane, scattering the dust it had collected. "He wanted me to be safe. You know how it's like its own world out here. It's nothin' like the times we've been in town." He looked up at the moon. "There's not any law out here keepin' some pony from trottin' up to us an' beatin' us dead." Yew shrugged her shoulders nervously. "Don't remind me." Dusty gave her a smile. "You sound like a super-nice version of Mom." Yew batted a small stone at him. "I do not sound like Mom." Dusty smacked the pebble back, forcing her to duck. "You aren't like Mom in the snappy way, but you're bein' all authoritative." "Well just imagine what trouble you would get into if I didn't watch you. "Hey, ah don't need watchin'," he protested. She reached over and messed up his mane. "I'm your older sister; it's my job to watch you." He laughed for a moment, then focussed on the ground. "Why did you come with me?" he asked, slightly down. "You had things goin' fine for you back there. Ah'm sure Pa didn't want you to leave." She shrugged. "I guess I was bored... Besides." She flicked her tail dismissively. "I like you. I didn't want to see you go all on your own." Dusty smiled a little as he drew a picture in the dirt with his hoof, unsure of what it was supposed to look like, maybe a dragon. "So then, where do we go?" "Dodge is the closest place. We don't have any supplies, so we'll probably have to head there first." "Or money," Dusty murmured. Yew's eyes sparkled a little as she reached back and dug in her saddlebag. After a moment, she drew out a small, drawstring sack and dropped it on the ground between them. The contents jangled as it struck the ground. "Yeah we do." His eyes widened almost comically. "Where'd you get that?" "I've been saving it. Since Mom believed in the whole sharing all our money thing, I hid it under a rock a bit off the trail." He cracked a wide grin. "Girl, ah can't believe you've been savin' money." She gave him a playful push. "Because you never had enough sense to." He looked long at the fire. "Ah never thought ah'd be leavin'. It all just happened so fast." Yew shook her head at him. "Honestly, what did you expect to do after you trudged out into the desert with no supplies?" "Well, ah—" "You didn't have any idea. That's why I came with you, because I know that you, never, plan." The poked him once in the chest with every word. "Thanks," he said in defeat. "Thanks, Yew. Thanks for comin' with me. Ah would be lost without you." She placed a hoof over his back and drew him into a hug. "That's right, little brother." He frowned over at her. "Hey now. You're only a year older than me; stop callin' me your little brother. We're almost the same age." "Doesn't matter, you're still my little brother." The colt gave her a sly grin. "Want to bet?" Without warning, she threw them both over on the ground and pinned him below her. "Sure." He planted his hooves on her belly and pushed up. "No fair! Ah wasn't ready!" She rolled off him onto her back, dodging aside as he tried to pounce her. "Well you should have been!" In one fluent movement, she twisted to her hooves and sprang, landing cleanly on the pegasus' back. "Hey," he complained, flaring his wings in attempt to knock her free. She held him firmly, wrapping his forehooves tightly around his neck. "Yew," he choked, tossing his head. "You're choking me." He tried to buck her off but she wouldn't budge. As a last resort, he reared up and dropped onto his back, feeling as the slightly-smaller mare squirmed below him. She released his neck to push up and he jumped, turning over in the air to land atop her. "Ha!" he cheered, pinning her shoulders. The smile quickly vanished from his face at the sight of her eyes. "Ouch," she gasped. Dusty hurriedly slackened his grip. "Ah'm sorry. Shoot, what'd ah do?" Her hoof flashed out and struck him across the muzzle, dazing him. Yew jumped up and hoofball-tackled him backwards. He was carried into the air to land on the woodpile with a grunt. She jumped and landed with all four hooves on his belly. "Ha!" He looked up at her, wincing in pain. "Now, that's not fair. Ah thought ah'd hurt you." She nipped his ear and climbed off. "Ha, like you thought you could hurt me." "Well, yeah. Ah thought ah could." She stood up and helped him off the woodpile. "Yeah, well, you can't." She messed up his mane for a second time. "Rule number one: when a pony cries, don't let them up until you know for sure they're hurt." He rubbed a pained spot on his back, brushing away some shards of bark caught in his coat. "Ah'll try to remember that." -ooOoo- Dusty touched down on the roof of the apartment building just above where the sign had been hung. He steadied himself, then looked back at the locomotive in the distance. The monster engine still looked pretty big from here, a thin tendril of smoke seeping from the stack. It sat like a wounded beast on the elevated track, the cars behind it in ruin. The gravelled roof of the apartment building looked as if it had served as some sort of camp. Tents lay scattered about on the roof, most of them toppled by the elements, but a few still standing. Not only were there tents, but emptied ammunition cannisters and torn or bloody casual apparel. There were a few REA uniforms as well, accompanied by damaged service carbine. Dusty plodded forward, kicking aside a few empty soup cans. From the look of things, the roof must have been abandoned quite a while ago, but there was no sign of a struggle. He made his way over to one of the still-standing tents, this one canvas. Inside was a camping pad and an old firefly lantern, the fireflies inside long since shriveled and dead. Empty cans and random bits and bobs lay around on the floor. With no real intentions, he kicked a few things around, looking with bored interest at the contents of the floor. He batted the bedroll over, and was mildly surprised to find a bound notebook. Curiously, he sat down and flipped it open to the first page. It was a drawing, nothing impressive, just a building sketched in pencil. He flipped through a few more pages to reveal more drawings, and good ones at that. There was a full perspective of the city, a zombie, two foals looking excitedly at a pistol. He skimmed through a few more and hurriedly skipped back to one. The drawing was of a slim mare, lying on her side, belly facing the viewer. Her legs were curled to her belly in a sort of elegant protection of herself. One eye was partially obscured by loose strands of her mane, and a dreamy, almost seductive smile adorned her face. She was missing two notches from her right ear and a bullet hole had torn clean through the left one. Dusty whistled. Whoever the artist was, they were good. The way her mane hung around her face, the tips slightly curved, her long sleek, tail and that sort of half-smile that suggested she had just made a sly joke, it was perfect. "Yew?" Dusty asked himself. It was her he was sure of it. He ran his eyes over her features. She looked as he remembered her, though much more thin and starved-looking. It was Yew. He shook his head. The chances of that were near nothing. He hadn't seen Yew for years. But it could be her; she could still be alive. The artist had sketched her in the book after the zombie, which meant that she survived the initial infection. His heart did a quick summersault, but the feeling quickly faded again. Desperate for more information, he flipped ahead in the book. About halfway through, the drawings stopped. Instead, a journal entry had been taken on this page. In a neat scrawl at the top of the page the writer had printed the word 'Stuff'. None of the entries had been dated and Dusty gave a little growl of frustration at this. 'None of us believe him. Two nights ago, some pony came along the street, beating on doors and saying that there were zombies in the city, like, the storybook-eat-your-brain kind of zombies. He said that they were attacking the inner city. Somepony called the authorities over and they carted him off, but it got some residents on edge. Well, it turns out he was right. Right now, I'm sitting here in my study, watching these things in the street. I never believed in these kind of things, but the only thing I can call these ponies are zombies. Mrs. Baker, the old mare in the apartment down from mine, tried to go out there. Celestia... they ate her. 'Some of the residents on the lower floors have since gotten together and boarded up the doors and windows. Whatever this mess is, we're going to sit tight and wait it out until the authorities clear it up.' Dusty turned to the next page with curious eyes. 'We're holed out on the roof. Somehow, the things got in downstairs. But we have to be careful up here. The pegasus zombies that got infected, well they can fly, some of them. We have two ponies up here with us from the authority station, but they're just as lost as we are. I swear, if they weren't wearing baby-blue suits and guns, they'd be just as scared-looking as we are. There's also a griffon up here with them. I guess these police ponies were taking it across the city when the stuff hit. He worries me; something in his eyes says he's really dangerous. I'm glad the officer's haven't taken his cuffs off. I would have thought he'd just fly away, but I asked the officers about it and they said his wings were clipped, and that griffon feathers take a long time to heal back. 'Things are pretty tense up here. There's not much food or water, or weapons for that matter.' 'A mare climbed the fire escape today. I have no idea how she survived being on the street, but she was tired and hungry and scared. And she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The others wanted to send her off. Food and water is distributed evenly among us, and nopony was willing to give up their share, so I offered mine to her. I know it was probably a really stupid idea, and I'm probably going to go hungry now, but I had to. She told me her name. It's Yew.' Dusty grinned. It really was Yew. The chances were a million to one, but it was her. 'At first I thought she was just pretending to like me so I'd give her food, but I'm not so sure now. She's really nice to me. If this is some sort of a charade, well then she's an amazing actor.' 'Haven't really written anything in the past two weeks. There hasn't been anything to write about. It's basically sleep all day to preserve energy and sleep all night to try and ignore how hungry you are. But recently, some of the other ponies have been talking about leaving. I don't like the thought of it, but I have to agree. If we stay here any longer, we'll starve.' 'They made their decision. We're leaving. As I write this, we are packing up what we need to take and preparing to make our way off the roof. Hopefully we don't all get eaten by zombies. Yew has a pistol, and she's a good shot with it too. Good thing she likes me I guess.' Dusty flipped the page, but there was nothing else; that was the last one that had been written on. There had to be more. The stallion hadn't even said where they would be going. It had been a miraculous stroke of luck to find Yew, but that luck must have run out. He slumped and folded his ears. This journal had been written only a couple weeks after the infection, they were now months in. He felt like lying down, waiting, but something stopped him. He picked up the journal and tucked it into the satchel hung around his back—he had left his saddlebags back at the train. He backed out of the tent and looked around the roof once more. The stairwell door was just a few feet away and he crossed casually towards it. His eyes widened in excitement at the sight of a paper by the door, pinned to the roof with a rock. He had to study the writing for a moment before he was able to make any of it out. The paper had been damaged by the elements and baked by the sun, making the writing hard to read. 'To the team we sent out: We could not wait for you to return with supplies any longer. If you make it back here, we have gone east, through the apartment blocks. There's an authority station a little under a mile away from here. We'll be there.' Dusty thanked the paper with a little nod. That's where they had gone. He thanked his luck again and flared his wings, feeling the tiniest bit smug that he could fly. He frowned out towards the east, where the rising sun was just beginning to peek out from above the ground far away. It wouldn't be a very long flight. -ooOoo- "What do you say?" Dusty asked Yew, the two gazing at the farmhouse in the distance. "We can't just walk up to somepony's house," she protested. She cast a longing glance at the farmhouse and Dusty knew he had her on shaky ground. "Look, we haven't eaten all day. Here's what ah think: ah think we trot up there an' offer to work for em' and do whatever they need for food or shelter in return." Yew sighed, slumping a little. "I guess we should try it." Dusty sat back and clopped his hooves approvingly. "Great, let's go." He started forward, leaving Yew no choice but to follow. This was a small farm—much smaller than the farm they had grown up on, and there was only one field in which apple trees grew. The farmhouse was also a small, two story arc-structure; it wasn't anything luxurious, but it served its purpose. He spotted no ponies tending to the trees as they approached, which was very strange considering the apples in the trees were red-ripe and plump. "Are they crazy?" Yew scolded, glaring out at the trees. "These ponies should have these trees bucked by now. In two days time those apples aren't going to be any good." "Ah was thinkin' the same thing." He squinted at the dark windows. "Ah don't think anypony lives here." "Nonsense, look at those trees. You can't have apple trees that nice on an untended farm." The farmhouse appeared as a cozy little thing. It had been painted firehouse-red, which had since faded a little from the sun, and little windmills spun in the front garden. Dusty paused skeptically as they reached the porch landing. "Well..." He looked over the vacant windows and the door with a big keep-out sign nailed to the front. "Maybe they just aren't too friendly." Yew tugged at his tail. "Dusty, come on. I don't want to find out if ponies are living here. I'd rather sleep on the ground hungry than get into trouble." He gave her an irritated look. "What could we possibly do or find that would get us into trouble out here?" He sighed at the look she gave him. "Fine, we'll sleep out in the cold, hungry, instead of havin' a chance at food an' warm shelter." He backed away from the porch and rolled his eyes at her. "You happy?" "Yes," she said, turning her tail on the farmhouse. Dusty was still doubting his older-sister's judgement as they left the farmhouse opposite of the way they had come. He scolded himself for not picking any of the apples for themselves, but it was probably for the best. If Yew did somehow happen to be right about whatever she thought she was right about, then they were better off. And even if he wanted to go back, he knew Yew wouldn't let him. "Do you ever get the feeling that something's watching you?" Yew asked about five minutes after they had topped a hill, dropping the little farm out of sight. "You mean other than you?" he scrunched his face, mocking thought. "Nope." "No, Dusty, I'm serious." She scanned the rocky landscape, ears folded and eyes alert. He rolled his eyes at her. "Sis, you are just one big bucket of paranoid today, aren't you?" "I swear, there's something watching us. I can feel it." He reared up and waved his forehooves in the air "Oooooh, maybe it's a zombie." Yew put a hoof on his head and forced him back onto all-fours. "Haha, shut up. That's just some stupid story your older brother made up to scare the hay out of you because you were dumb enough to believe it." She raised her snout. "There are no such things as zombies and there never will be." Dusty gave up on his efforts. "Sorry. Ah was just tryin' to lighten the mood a bit." "Well yer' doin' a purdy good job!" jeered a rather goofy voice with a heavily-accented drawl. Yew screamed and jumped about a foot in the air. Dusty jumped, startled. He spun around, nearly tripping over his own hooves, to face a mustard-colored buck looking over them both with a crooked smile. He had no idea how the pony had managed to sneak up on them, but here he was, smiling like somepony with a gun to his head was telling him to. His coat was worn and patchy in spots, ungroomed and matted with dried mud. His unsettling smile showed about eight and a half remaining teeth and his breath smelt of dirt and rotten fruit. "Shoot," he said, letting out a giggle that transferred into a snort, "Did ah sceer y'all?" Yew stood behind Dusty, breathing heavily with one hoof on her heart. "Yeah, you did!" He sat back and scratched his ear with a hind leg. "Y'all were jus' bein' so talkative like, ah jus' walked right up." "Dusty," Yew whispered, "I don't like this stallion." "Me neither," he whispered back. "Whach'ya whisperin'?" the pony asked casually, somehow managing to make himself sound very intimidating. "Nothing," Dusty said hurriedly. The scruffy pony took a step towards them. "Oh yes you's was; ah heard's you." Dusty gulped. He held a calm face, but he was scared half-out of his wits. This pony was bigger and older than he was. He could easily overpower both him and Yew. Acting as brave as he could, he wrapped a wing over his sisters back and led her backwards. "Dusty?" Yew asked quietly, as they left the crazy pony, who only stared at them. "What are the chances of us meeting a crazy pony in the half-middle of nowhere?" The buck that had been watching them go jumped and ran up to them again. "So where ya'll headin'? Dodge's jus' a ways away." "Yes." Dusty walked a little faster, hoping the pony would just give up and fall back, but he stuck by them. "Well if yer' headin' fer' town then you should know you shouldn't go there unless you like bein' around ponies." Dusty flicked his tail dismissively. "Ah'm pretty sure we do." "When did we trot into spooksville?" Yew asked irritably. The crazy pony perked his ears. "Wasn't spooksville you been through; that was my family farm." Yew glared daggers at Dusty. "I told you something wasn't right. Mom and Dad were never lying—the ponies in the desert are crazy!" The mustard buck shot right to her side. "Ah don't like yer' tone missy." Dusty drove a knee into Yew's side. "Don't mind her, she's just mad at... whatever girls get mad at." He pulled Yew close to whisper in her ear. "Don't make him angry. This pony's rabbit-crazy an' ah' don't want any troubles with him. We're almost to Dodge; just keep things calm until then." "How am ah doin'?" answered the stallion in an equally whispery voice in Dusty's other ear. "Oh yes," he continued, answering his own question. "Ah'm doin' fine." "Are you now?" Dusty asked with an air of sarcasm. He nodded frantically. "Oh yeah. Whole family's doin' great. But they're a little worried about the graysuits." Dusty frowned. "Graysuits?" "Yeah, the graysuits—Army ponies. They done showed up a few months ago ago askin' question's 'bout the farm. Paid us three-hundred bits so they could bury metal things in the ground around the house an' the field." Dusty pondered the crazy pony's words. He had heard his father speak of the Army before. They were some sort of new force in Equestria, a branch of Celestia's Royal Guard. His father had said something about Equestria getting too big for Celestia to manage herself, so she had to create branches she could manage to do it for her, and that the new army was to help her keep order. "What metal things?" Yew asked. "Ah don't remember what'sit they were called. Some radio wave thingies." He bounced happily. "Three hundred bits!" With that, he turned and ran, nearly tripping over himself. "Three hundred bits?" Yew said with a frown. -ooOoo- Dusty shook himself back to the present. His head throbbed angrily at him and his muscles felt sore, but it was nothing he couldn't bear. He flew low between office buildings and apartments, eyes skimming broken windows and the dark depths beyond. A zombie charged up the the edge of an apartment balcony and looked long at him, open mouthed. Dusty watched the thing with interest. "Go on," he whispered. "Why don't you jump?" The enforcement station was looming just ahead and below. It was a dark blue building in the midst of white and gray. He raised his eyebrows slightly as he dropped towards the station. It was in the middle of a clearing, surrounded on all sides by cobbled street and flanked on either side of that by much-taller apartment buildings. It was two stories high, and sported a small landing strip for skywagons—only about fifteen feet in length, a landing there would be a push. The most shocking was that the surrounding streets were completely crowded with pastel zombies. Some wandered around aimlessly, while some batted half-heartedly at the barred doors and windows of the station. Dusty drew Valediction as he neared, two pegasus zombie milling around on the roof in mind. Hovering just above and taking aim, he dispatched the both of them, both shots striking their marks. He did a full circle of the building before landing, not wanting any unpleasant surprises. He set himself down near the access door the the second level. Rotting corpses lay around the door, practically glued to the rubberized concrete that was the roof of the building. He tried not to breathe too deeply as he stepped around dried blood pools and bullet casings. The steel door had been smashed and bent in it's frame, and proved rather hard to open as Dusty tugged on the handle. He took a breath, heaved, and managed to scrape the door open about a foot, just enough for him to squeeze in. He barely fit, almost getting caught at the wing joints, but managing to pull himself through to the other side. With a little less effort than before, he shut the door behind him. He did a little bounce, turned, and took a step back into the darkness. His hoof came down on nothing but air and he found himself tilting forwards. Before he could even unfurl his wings, he was tumbling down a flight of stairs, head over hooves. He spun for a moment like a pony in a blender before thudding the the ground at the bottom. He picked himself up with a groan, rubbing his aching head. Dead fluorescents hung from the ceiling in here. Even the safety lights near the exits were without power. He sat for a minute, giving his head a chance to stop spinning and letting his eyes adjust to the new gloom. He crept forward, keeping his hoofsteps light on the traffic-carpet below his hooves. Dead terminals sat on desks or lined walls here and there, having since gathered dust on their screens. The glass door to the Sheriff's office had been smashed and the door had been nearly torn off its hinges. The contents of the office had been scattered, papers and trinkets tossed about around the oaken desk. The shell of a weapon locker sat tipped on its side against the far wall, whatever weapons it had once held gone. Some ponies had definitely made use of this place. Not quite sure what he was looking for, he continued on, locating the staircase at the other end of the building. He passed a few more corpses on the stairs, their smell putrid in the small space. The first floor was more of a public grounds. The polished, marble floor which must have once shone under the light of the fluorescents, was now dirtied and stained with whatever had come since the infection. The station must have been abandoned in the midst of the chaos; riot gear had been thrown around and much gear had been hastily left, stacked against back walls or even thrown on the floor. Morning light spilled through small cracks under the front, double doors, which had been barred and boarded shut. From outside, he could hear quiet groans and grunts, and every once in a while the door would creak in its frame as a zombie pushed up against it. Dusty kept himself vigilant as he crept around the the greeting desk most ponies never wanted to be greeted at. More blood, more bullet casings, there were no bodies this time. He peered around, his eye catching a faint light. Yellow beams spilt from a doorway to the left of the desk. A sign above informed him that it was the greeting room. He drew the weathered revolver from its holster, teasing the mechanism. Quickly, he hopped over the greeting desk, making much more noise than he would have preferred and cringing at the way his hooves echoed on the marble. In the waiting room, a single light bulb hung from a cord on their ceiling, lighting a small circle in the center of the room but leaving the corners dark. A pony lay under the light, its back to him. "Hello?" he called around the firing bit, creeping forward. "Ish you're a zomfie, pleashe tell me now." He half expected the pony to jump up, but at the same time he knew that pony was most likely dead. Throwing caution to the wind, he trotted up to the middle of the room and rolled the pony over to face him. A pony dressed in REA barding looked up at him, shot through the head. From the body's condition, Dusty would say he was no more than a day dead. He flinched as a spotlight flared to life from behind him. What the—" He jumped and flipped around, blinded completely by the light. "What the hay?" He tried to shield his face from the light with a forehoof. "Drop the weapon!" A mare called from ahead, somewhere behind the source of the light. He turned to face her voice and a shot rang out, pitting the marble below his hooves. "Drop your weapon!" she yelled, louder this time. With no other options, he dropped the revolver, wincing a little as it clattered to the floor. "There." "Get down on the floor." He glared. "Come on, you already—" "Get down on the floor now!" He dropped the the cold marble. "Right, sorry." "Slide the revolver over here." Knowing better than to try arguing, he reached out a hoof and shoved the revolver towards the light. It slid across the marble and out of sight. "Hey, if y'all don't plan on killin' me, could ah please get that back? It means a lot to me." There was no response. Dusty looked over to the REA pony and pursed his lips. "Let's hope ah don't end up like you just yet." "St-stand up!" the mare yelled, sounding a little unsure of herself. Dusty winced into the light, but was still couldn't make out anything. "Kill the lights," the voice said after a moment. There was a click and the light blinding him shut off. There was another click and a hum and the roof fluorescents flickered to life. Dusty found himself surrounded by four figures, and all of them were plenty intimidating. They smelt and looked of rotten blood and grime, their rifles and armored barding battle-scarred. The one to his back-left was a light-blue unicorn mare. She leered at him, eyes hardly seen under her unkempt, white mane, stained brown with dirt and blood. She levitated two submachine guns on either side of her, safeties off. The pony on his back right was a unicorn stallion, gray with a brown mane and tail. He wore a pair of wire rimmed glasses, the bridge held together with a strand of tape. He also sported a battle saddle with a basic-issue carbine on the left. The weapon on the right was much more peculiar—a rifle, nearly as long as he was, the barrel long and notched. A scope had been mounted on a swinging mechanism attached to the rifle so it could be lowered before his eyes. The thing glaring at him from the left was what scared him most. It was a griffon. It's fur was dark-brown and it's hind paws were black, along with about half it's back legs and the fluffy tip of its tail. It stood on it's hind legs, aiming a rifle at Dusty with calm contemplation. It had flared its wings, which were both a magnificent and terrifying sight; they were a sort of mix between brown, red, and black, all the colors blending into one another in an uneven pattern of lines. From the shape and build of it, he could tell that it was male, but still found it hard to call the thing a he. The griffon also held a weapon by make of which Dusty had never seen. The rifle had been fitted with a stalk, a trigger just before the beaten wood. The griffon had one set of talons clenched on the wooden grip along the length of the barrel, and the other just behind the hammer mechanism, one claw on the trigger. At the point of which its coat gave way to feathers at its neck, the same went for its wings. The feathers were black, except for small patches of brown and red around its eyes and a cropping of red and black atop its head. It's beak was a hybrid of brown and black and it's eyes were amber, borderline on hazel. Dusty found himself shrinking away. He didn't want a single thing to do with that griffon. It looked like it could pick him up and tie him into a balloon pony. The last one was an earth pony mare. She had a dark-brown coat and a green-black mane. A long scar ran up her face, right across her left eye, which had gone a milky white. There was also a small bullet hole through her left ear. She too wore a battle saddle, this one adorning twin-mounted automatic rifles. His eyes widened as he stared at her. "Yew?" -ooOoo- "What are you talking about?" the blue colt protested, glaring at his sister. She shot him an annoyed face for raising his voice, not wanting to attract the attention of any other ponies in the diner. "I mean, we should go to Canterlot." Dusty lowered his voice, keeping his head low to the table. "Why would you want to go there? It's just a bunch of nonsense and fancy ponies." She fumed. "Dusty, it's not like that. There could be something for us there." He thudded the table with a forehoof. "There's something for us here." He motioned around to the ponies in the diner. "Dodge ponies are okay with hirin' kids. You think some city pony's going to hire us? We'll end up in some sort of jail or a hole for homeless foals. There's work for us here." "Sure," she snorted, "Grunt work." He rolled his eyes at her, something that was becoming a bit of a habbit. "It's not like you're gonna' get a job that's anythin' better than grunt work. You could still be at the farm right now. It was your choice to follow me." She rolled her eyes back. "But ponies will hire us if we know what we're doing. We could learn. We can practically be called adults as long as you ignore the fact that we're about half a foot shorter than most ponies." She shook her head. "Don't you see? This is our chance to make something of ourselves." He waved his hooves in front of her face. "Hello, kids! We get to do that stuff later. For now, lets just stay fed." She performed some sort of cross between a laugh and a snort. "Please, we've been through enough to pass as adults. How long have we been working now?" "Two months." He groaned as he fell into her trap. "But—" "That means we can handle ourselves." Dusty allowed his head to drop the the tabletop. "You know how it said in the papers how Canterlot is gettin' all industrialized. Those poor pony folk work so hard they die." She kicked him under the table. "It's not that bad." He shook his head. "You know ah want to run the trains down here. How do you ever expect me to do that in Canterlot?" "Dusty, you can't—" He cut her off: "Don't you ever say ah can't. Now, ah don't care what you want to do, but ah'm stayin' around these parts." She looked distressed. "Dusty, don't you see? I can make something for myself there, and so can you." "Ah don't want to be some prissy city pony." The waitress stopped by their table holding a big cheesy smile—a little blonde mare—and set two adult menus down in front of them. "Are you and your date ready to order?" Yew glared daggers at the mare. "He's my brother." The mare nearly dropped the clipboard she was levitating. "Oh my goodness. I am so sorry." she gathered herself. "Would you like to order now?" Dusty looked up to her. "You should probably give us a moment." The mare gave a knowing nod and backed away. "Right. I'll leave you two to it then." Dusty focussed again on Yew. "Ah'm sorry, Yew, but if you go to Canterlot, ah'm not comin' with you." She crossed her hooves. "Well, it looks like we have a disagreement then." He smiled at her. "You can't follow me forever." Silently, she slid out of the booth. "We'll talk about this later." -ooOoo- He stared at the brown mare before him, and she stared back. He tried to think of some sort of thing to say, but came up short. "Well this is cliche," he muttered under his breath. The brown mare squinted back at him. "Cliche?" He parried her prying tone. "Yeah... the chances of me meeting you again..." She held her confused look, her good eye examining every inch of his body. "I don't believe this." She looked back and slid the revolver left on the floor towards her with a back hoof and scooped it up with a forehoof to look at it. "Where'd you get this gun?" "Pa gave it to me." The mare lowered her defensive stance. "Celestia... it is you." before he could reply, the mare shrugged off her battle saddle and armour and dashed forward to wrap him in a crushing hug." "Oh how sweet," the blue mare crooned with a bit of a rasp in her voice. Yew drew back, eyes sparkling, the tiniest bit of worry nagging around the edges. "You're... hot." "Whoa, mare," said the gray stallion. She shook her head. "No, not like that. I mean he's burning up." "Yeah..." He decided to change the subject. "Why's there a hole through your ear?" "Why is your ear missing?" she countered. "Why you got a scar up half your face?" "Griffon claw," she said with a swipe of her tail. He grinned. "Doubt gettin' clawed by a griffon made you any stronger." "Wanna bet?" she sneered. He drug a hoof across the ground. "Do you?" She sprang forward and Dusty reared up to meet her. The mare's momentum prevailed and he was carried off his hooves to land with a thud on his back. Her comrades rushed in to help—all but the griffon—but she waved them away. "Leave it!" she growled, struggling to hold the writhing pegasus. Using her greater weight against her, Dusty, rolling them both over onto their sides, he barely had time to react before she released him and instead, wrapped her hooves around his neck. She tried to roll onto his back, but he managed to keep her off. Trying to save himself, he kicked her in the belly. She slacked enough to allow him to slip free and push her onto her belly. Pinning her from atop, he wrapped his hooves around her neck. "Ha!" he called. "Dusty," she choked, hooves writhing below her. "You got me. Now let go; it hurts." "Rule number one," he recited. "Never let a pony up until you know that they're hurt." She stopped writhing. "Fine." She sprang up with all four hooves. He struggled to hang on as she threw her body left. He found himself sliding down her right side, where her hoof came to meet his face. Stars filled his head and he closed his eyes at the pain of the surprisingly-heavy blow. When he came to, he found her on top with him on his back, shoulders pinned. "Ha!" Yew shook her mane out of her face. "Almost." She stepped off him and tried to smooth her ravaged coat. The light-blue mare's eyes darted between the two. "So, what, you two are friends now?" Yew shrugged as Dusty picked himself up. "He's my brother." She gave the unsteady pegasus a strong nudge, knocking him back to the floor. "Who I haven't seen in quite a while." SMG mare pointed between the two. "You two, brother and sister?" She snorted, trying not to laugh. Dusty picked himself up again, more slowly this time. "It's a long story." He looked to Yew. "Not that ah ever doubted you or anythin', but, how are you still..." "Alive?" He nodded and she nodded back. "A combination of luck, smarts, and a little help from an REA armory, courteously left unlocked by the previous inhabitants." Dusty spotted Valediction still on the floor, and picked up the weapon to return it safely to its holster. Looking up, he examined Yew's dual assault rifles. "Ah can see that." The gray pony took a step forward with subdued grace, his movements sleek as silver. "You said his body temperature was high." He spoke in warning, but his voice leaked charisma like water from a soaked sponge. "That's the first noticeable sign of infection." Yew gave the stallion a warning look. "I know." She cleared her throat and turned to Dusty in a business-like fashion. "Are you infected?" She held a strict stance, but her good eye was shimmering with worry. He pointed towards the bandage around his head. "Ah'm not sure yet. It took the whole ear, so..." "There's a chance the ear parted with your body before the infection had the chance to spread," the gray stallion said coolly. He looked strictly at Dusty. "If you begin to experience dizziness or confusion, you'd better let us know. The beginning symptoms are very similar to those of the common cold, so it's hard to tell at first." He shrugged with a tiny grin. "It's hard to believe, but the flu still exists in all this mess. You never know." Dusty nodded slowly. "Yeah." Yew nudged him. "Here, let me introduce you to my crew." She pointed to the light-blue mare first. "That's Altic, our gun toting, SMG dual-wielding psychopath." Altic glared. "Don't push it, Yew. I can still hurt you with a gun without shooting you." Yew pointed to the gray stallion next. "That's Range, if you can guess why." Range dropped the scope on his rifle, the mechanism giving a few hearty clicks. "Accurate up to eight-hundred yards." He sprouted a cocky grin before magically raising the scope. "I'm also pretty sure that he's smarter than all of us combined." She moved on to the griffon. "This is Esekiel." The griffon had since sat back on his haunches, rifle still gripped in front of him. He nodded his head once at Dusty, acting much less intimidating. "Hello," he said in an oily, low voice. Dusty nodded back, a little unnerved. "Hello." "And, last but not least." She pointed towards Dusty. "This is Dusty, my little brother." Range whistled. "Well, that's a one-in..." He paused frowning at the ceiling. "thirty million chance." "Whom I haven't seen in years." "sixty-two million," he chimed Altic made a scene of returning the two automatics to their holsters with several metal noises and the swish of steel on vinyl. "Right, now can we get back to our plan of not starving to death?" Dusty pointed to the REA stiff on the floor. "Was this your doin'?" Yew sighed. "Sad to say that it was. He stuck with us for a while. Poor sap lost it. Tried to off himself and tried to off us when we tried to stop him." Range coaxed a click from his service carbine. "Said we were all left for dead. Well, it was either him or us." Dusty changed topics. "Have you lot been in the city since the infection?" The four of them nodded and Range pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Fortieth floor of Progress Inc. when it all hit the fan." Yew gave Dusty an odd look. "Were you looking for me? And if you were, how did you find me?" "Oh." He reached back and pulled the journal from his bag. "Ah found this on the roof of that apartment." She took the notebook with a down expression and flipped to the page with the drawing of her. "He had a journal," Dusty clarified. "Said you were all leavin'." He frowned. "Say, where are all the others?" Yew closed the book. "All dead, except for Esekiel... They never made it across the city." Altic flicked her tail. "Yew had to put down her stud three weeks ago." She snorted. "Found out why she hadn't been getting any when his eyes started to bleed." The glare Yew gave Altic could have scared a zombie. "Yes, he was one of the survivors, and yes, he got infected." She sighed. "And yes, that's why I wasn't getting any, and I think it was pretty courteous of him not to give me anything, like the virus... Yeah, I shot him when his eyes went red." Range raised a hoof like a know-it-all about to answer a question in class. "And that's where I come in." He rubbed his neck. "I was on the roof of the Chinley building, sniping the stumbers outside the palace gates, when I heard the shot. I knew there'd probably be zombies running for it, so I turned my scope, and there were the three of them on the roof of a diner." He pointed towards Yew. "Yew here saw my scope and insisted I join them via message drawn on a markerboard." Yew grinned. "Last thing I expected was for him to come sailing off the roof on a damned paraglider." "Which he crashed," Esekiel added quietly. "It was my first time, okay. I think I did pretty good... It wasn't my fault some pony had a paraglider on top of their business for sport. But I do give them credit for not paying any mind to safety, or airspace laws for that matter." Dusty found himself trying not to laugh. "What are you, some sort of ninja pony? Range blew air through his nose. "That, I am not. I am simply a business consultant who gained access to the weapons locker for the CEO's private guard." Yew flicked Range across the muzzle with her tail. "The owner of the company he worked for was into some really black-market stuff." "Hey!" Altic yelled, waving her forehooves around. "Not starving! Hello?" Yew snapped back into her formal mode. "Right, come on." She turned and beckoned them all with her tail. Starting out of the waiting room, she beckoned Dusty to her side. "You see, we've been trying to make our way out of here for quite some time, and given the fact that none of us can fly, that's proven rather difficult." She led them out of the waiting room and down a short hall to a flight of stairs. "What about the griffon?" Dusty asked, looking back at Esekiel. The griffon walking on all fours behind them snorted and took a swipe at the wall. "I can't fly. I had been detained in the city, and to prevent my escape, those authority ponies clipped my wings like I was some sort of animal. I can't fly more than ten feet." "So you see," Range chimed in, cutting off whatever the griffon was planning on saying next. "We have been attempting other means of escape. And if we can't escape to the skies..." Dusty squinted as they reached a bottom of the stairs to be greeted by darkness. Yew hit a switch, bringing to life the dirty, incandescent bulbs along the ceiling. The basement was roughly thirty by thirty feet. A small spark generator sat in one corner, humming quietly. Other corners were heaped with old riot gear and other outdated equipment that had been tossed down far wall had been blasted open, and the middle of the room had been stacked with piles of dirt and stone. "You see," Range clarified, leading Dusty to a table covered with roughly-sketched blueprints. "There used to be an old tunnel system under the city, connecting the city's prime utilities, hospitals, authority stations, banks, the whole works. Sadly, this station was never part of the loop." He pointed to a rough square sketched on the paper. "That's us." His hoof slid a short ways to a much large square. "This is a branch of the Canterlot Archives, specifically designed for the safe storage of fund documentation and what holotape files that existed with new technologies." He threw a quick glance at Dusty over his glasses. "You following?" The pegasus nodded. "Mostly." Range nodded, then pointed to a line drawn through the big square. "This is the Hayfield utility tunnel, named after it's designer and contractor, Herbert Hayfield. Now, the tunnel was shut down one year ago due to the fact that underground steam travel was both inefficient and obsolete compared to new advancements in gem-powered locomotion. Instead of running a third, electrical rail through the old tunnel, the city built a new tunnel adjacent to the hayfield tunnel, ten feet higher. The hayfield tunnel was sealed off, and the city had plans to concrete it, but lack of resources led to the tunnel being abandoned altogether." He drew a line across the paper with his hoof from the small square to a spot a little past the large square. "We have dug a tunnel from here, to the Hayfield tunnel, two-hundred yards away. I had just finished setting the charges on the tunnel wall when you arrived." Dusty interrupted. "Speakin' of which, how'd you know ah was here an' have time to set up that ambush?" Range pointed towards Dusty's leg. "That revolver of yours isn't exactly quiet. Then you went and made a whole lot of racket cursing at the door and falling down the stairs." Range waved him away. "It's lucky you came when you did. I planned on blowing those charges once we were ready in a few hours." Dusty examined the massive piles of dirt stacked around the room. "Just how long have you ponies been here?" Yew furrowed her brow in thought. "Three weeks... a bit more maybe." Esekiel snorted. "Three weeks too long. We had enough powdered meals from our REA buddy to last a week; we made them last three." To prove his point, his stomach growled angrily. "Seemed such a waste when we shot the army pony." He growled, rolling his eyes. "Yew won't let me eat him." Dusty flared his wings in surprise and let them fall limp to his sides. "Wha, eat him?" Esekiel motioned towards himself with a talon. "Griffon. Hello. I'm not strictly vegetarian. I've got a curved beak for a reason." "I told you that's an abomination," Yew said shortly. "You can't eat a pony we've been acquaintanced with. It's just wrong." "And starving is okay?" "Enough." Range's horn glowed orange as he levitated a wood chip from his saddlebag and put it in one side of his mouth, chewing on the end. "Again with the eating wood," Atlic drawled. Range trotted over to a spot near the blasted basement wall. "It's substance." Magically grabbing two lengths of copper wire, he wove them together. One end of the copper length streaked off down the small tunnel, the other ran to it's end near a small spark battery. Yew gave the gray stallion a look. "You ready?" Range sat back. "Sure am. I say we blast this hole now. We're slept, hungry, and we've got eleven hours of daylight ahead of us." He held up the length of wire not tied to the spark battery and held it over the positive terminal. "Is there anything we need to do before we depart our free-range prison?" The three ponies and griffon exchanged glances and shrugs. "No," Yew answered for them. "Spark us off." Range gave her a half grin and touched the wire to the spark battery. There was a little spark, then a deep bang from off down the tunnel. The ground vibrated and there was a sudden gust of wind from the tunnel, followed by heavy cloud of dust. "Try to breathe through your lips," Range warned, activating a flashlight on his battle saddle. "This dust will choke you." "Right," Esekiel murmured. "Lips... I'll certainly try that." Dusty found himself left out as Yew, Esekiel, and Altic flipped on similar devices. Not feeling the need to make a deal of it, he just fell in beside Range as he led them down the pitch-black tunnel. The dirt and stone tunnel had been constructed of wooden four-by-four beams and other mismatched pieces of wood. It looked stable, but it was nothing pretty. He cringed as a wave of nausea hit him, but it subsided quickly. It was about a minute of downward travel before they reached the end of the dirt tunnel. A brick wall loomed ahead in the light, partially blasted open. Range growled as he looked over the outer tunnel wall. A hole, barely large enough for a pony to squeeze through had been blasted in the thick stone. While the surrounding blocks had been cracked and scarred, they had not moved. "I should have used a larger charge, but I was afraid of bringing the whole tunnel down." he beckoned Altic forward. "Mind giving me a horn?" She lit her horn with a smirk, pushing past Dusty to focus on one of the large blocks of stone which had broken free. "Anything for you, stud." "Please," he grunted, channeling his magic at the same block, his orange mixing with her white. "Spare the blatant compliments. Praise from you is about the same as getting praise from a good-looking badger." She laughed, sweat beading on her brow as she pinched her eyes half shut and forced, horn glowing brighter. "You so want me." The block ground forward a few inches. "Sorry, but I'm not a masochist." The two grunted and the block shifted and fell away with a crash. "Oh yeah," Altic said, panting. "I forgot, you like your mare's tied up." Range wiped his brow with a forehoof and magically righted his glasses. He leered at the light-blue mare. "That can be arranged, if you want." He turned away and pushed through the newly-made entrance, Altic right behind. Yew crossed through next, grinning. "Thanks for the show you two." Dusty followed close behind her, and stood aside as Esekiel squeezed through, the stone pulling at his sides. Range shone his light around the tunnel, a smug grin on his face. "Welcome, everypony, to the Hayfield tunnel." Altic whipped him across the nose with her tail and he magically yanked on her mane, almost knocking her over. "What's with those two?" Dusty whispered to Yew. Yew shrugged. "Altic can't stand Range and Range can't stand Altic." She frowned. "They must like that sort of thing, because they certainly do get along when they're alone. "So they have benefits?" "Definitely." Altic shone her light down the tunnel to the left, then to the right. "Homey, isn't it?" The rounded tunnel walls had been lined with auburn tile, stained nearly black from soot and smoke. A quarter inch of water ran down alongside the tracks, trickling over the concrete and creating a somewhat spooky ambiance. The tracks in the middle were worn and rusted, the ties soggy and moldy from moisture. Dusty tapped the tracks casually with a forehoof. "These are narrow gauge tracks." Range pointed to the left, where the tunnel stretched away, out of the range of their light. "West." "So, um, Range," Dusty asked as they started down the tunnel, their hoofsteps echoing ominously. "You never told me the full of your plan." Altic gave Dusty a dirty look. "Great, now I have to listen to him talk some more." Range cleared his throat and silenced Altic with a look. "Ah, interested I see. This being a tunnel designed for steam travel, there had to be ventilation. Every five-hundred yards is a ventilation duct fitted with an air handler to draw out smoke, and a smaller duct to fill the tunnel with fresh air. To reach these air handlers, one must climb a ladder to a hatch in the roof that leads to a maintenance room." He grinned. "Here's the trick. We have to get in to one of those rooms and climb the ventilation duct to the surface. You see, there is no way out of this tunnel, all the old stations having been sealed off with brick and steel." "But that's impossible," Dusty protested. "I doubt one of those vents is more'n a foot and a half wide. There's no way a pony can climb up that." "My thoughts exactly. You see, all the shafts are vertical... all but one. In one case, the ventilation duct had to be re-routed around a building's foundation. This shaft travels horizontally for a length of fifty feet until a ninety degree curve in which it runs up the length of a wagon park residing above ground, on a lower level of the city. That is how we will get out of here. Our kind griffon friend will cut us free of the vent and, voila." "How do you know all this?" Dusty asked curiously. "A year and a half ago, before they shut down this tunnel, I was assigned to write a burglary scenario in the Hayfield tunnel. I basically know this place like the front of my hoof." Altic walked up on Range's left, swaying her hips purposefully in an egotistic manner. "Tell him your plan for after we get out of the tunnel." Range glared at her, his eyes traveling to her rump and her cutie-mark of two crossed sticks with blur lines around them, then back to her face. "Very funny." To Dusty. "I have no plan for once we leave the tunnel, for I know not what lies beyond the exit." Dusty jumped. "Wow, ah can't believe I forgot to tell you earlier." He examined one of the maintenance hatches as they passed under it. "Ah got a way out of the city." Esekiel, who had been walking a ways behind and balancing on the left rail, slipped and nearly fell on his face, "You what?" Altic chimed in right after him. "Well why the hay didn't you—" "You do?" Yew cut the blue mare mare off. "It's practically impossible to get out of the city. The streets are still barricaded from when the REA was trying to contain the infection. We're out of the first barrier, but there's still the second, and thousands of zombies." "Funny thing is, ah didn't see any zombies when we were headin' into the city." She deadpanned. "One, why the hay were you coming into Canterlot. And two, just because you see can't see them, doesn't mean they're not there." Range gave Dusty a nudge. "Do tell us." Dusty stepped carefully over a dead rat with a little grimace. "We were headin' for Baltimare. We got a train." Dusty nodded. "We as in, me an' about fifteen other ponies... We used to be sixty." Altic frowned, managing to not look sinister this time. "What happened there?" "Griffons." Esekiel flared his wings and beat them uncomfortably. "Yes, I know we griffons are nasty... I'd hate to meet one of us as a zombie." Dusty looked back at him. "Trust me, zombie griffons are the worst." "Did you come in from the south side?" asked Yew, changing the topic. "Yeah." "That's why." She sighed. "To cover their retreat, the REA blocked the tracks." Range chipped in. "They had planned on destroying the bridge spanning the gorge on the northeastern side of the city. Without the resources to do so, they ended up blocking the tracks. Wagons, derailed railcars, two shunting engines. Everything." He frowned at Dusty. "You know what section I speak of?" He nodded. "Yeah. Long stretch of track past the railyard, just before the l-turn and the bridge?" "Bingo." Range sighed. "They seized up the wheels on the engines they left on main line and greased the tracks before it. I watched them from a rooftop. You'd need a crane to clear those tracks." Dusty found himself grinning. "Or a really big train." Range glared down the tunnel. "Sure, it's a shame the REA took all the freightliners with them when they left. You'd need a miracle to push those engines off the tracks, especially with the wheelslip factor." Dusty grinned wider. "Ah don't suppose an Equestrian Railways Big Buck four-thousand series could clear those tracks." He snorted. "Sure, if you could find one. They've all been scrapped, and the one remaining is sitting in a railyard somewhere in Las Pegasus." "What if ah told you there were two left." Dusty caught Range's eye and watched as the gray unicorn's eyes widened in understanding. "I don't know whether or not I should believe you. But if you aren't pulling my leg, then you are just about the damned luckiest pony alive in this apocalypse." He shook his head. "Ah wouldn't quite say. We're dead on the tracks right now." Range deflated a little. "Well, what's the issue?" "We pinched a pipe comin' up the hill. It burst on us once we got a little ways into the city." "You've stopped on the elevated track?" Range asked with worry. Dusty picked up his worried tone. "Yeah... why?" "Those elevated railways are safe-tested for five-hundred and twenty tons, and if I'm correct that engine of yours weighs five-hundred loaded." Dusty rubbed his neck. "Well, uh, it's a good thing we aren't full on water." "But still, that much weight, sitting still—" Esekiel made a cry of warning, sharp and loud, similar to that of an eagle. He jumped forward, pulling the rifle from the holster on his back and taking a two-legged stance. "Movement," he rasped, aiming down the sights. The four ponies tensed, readying their weapons. Esekiel parted his beak, glaring ahead into the darkness. There was a little squeak and a scuttling of movement as a rat darted across the tracks. Altic screamed, voice cracking, and jumped back. "Rat!" Range flipped his safety back on and smiled over at her. "Scared of rats are we?" Esekiel's eyes remained on the rat as it scuttled about the tunnel. "Hey, Range, do you think rats carry the infection? "Theoretically... Why do you ask?" The griffon lowered the rifle. "Because I'm hungry." Altic gagged and turned her head away as Range snickered. "I don't think you should," the gray stallion warned. "It very well could have traces of it on its fur." Esekiel groaned. "You are just determined to make me miserable." Dusty found his eyes drinking in the griffon's rifle. Like he had noted before, it had a stalk, and a trigger just in front and below it. What was peculiar about it though, was that it did not feed like a normal rifle. It had a revolving cylinder, much similar to that of a revolver, but larger and with only five chambers. From the look of the weapon, it had seen its share of abuse, the stained cedar on the grip and stalk dented and scared. His eyes followed the rifle's course as Esekiel returned it to the holster on his back and fell back to all-fours. "Not tryin' to be snoopy here," Dusty said quietly, striking the griffon's attention. "But what kind of a rifle is that?" Esekiel grinned and ran a talon along the barrel of the weapon. "This is a revolving rifle. If you can tell, it was made custom for a griffon. You can't fit it in a battle saddle and a unicorn could use it if they had enough practice. It was fabricated for my cousin during a civil war quite a ways away from here. He fell in battle and I got this along with a box full of possessions." Dusty nodded. "So, um, what's your story?" Esekiel snorted and rolled his eyes. "Story, heh. Came to Equestria and became a fugitive the third week I was here. Turns out, ponies like their local wildlife." Another snort. "How was I supposed to know. When the infection hit, this nonsense that started with ponies mind you, I was currently being held at the very authority station we just broke out of, having been captured the day before for burglary." "Well you're a nice cookie," Dusty muttered. The griffon glared. "I had to eat. How many places do you know where a griffon can get work?" Instead of waiting for an answer, he continued on. "They clipped my wings and were transporting me to a more secure environment when those things started running down the street. The authority ponies were nice enough to take me out of the wagon as they fled, and that's how I ended up on that rooftop where Yew showed up later." He chuckled almost cruelly. "I would have never seen this rifle again, but turns out the sheriff of that station had a thing for exotic weapons." "Well, ah'm sorta' glad you're here. Not gonna' lie; you creep me out a bit. But ah feel sorry for any zombie in your way." Esekiel looked down at Dusty, his eyes cold and level. "If you spend enough time around me, you'll soon learn, I will do whatever I can to survive." "Heads up all." Range flicked his light to a higher setting. "We just passed handler number twenty-seven; the next is just ahead." Altic stepped around a half-eaten rat with a look of sheer disgust on her face. "Of course there'd be rats down here." She shuddered. "I hate rats." She eeped as another rat scuttled out from under one of the track ties. In a second, she drew the two automatics, reducing the little black creature to a pile of red gunk with the dual flash of her weapons' shortened barrels. Range shied away. "Easy, Altic. Don't get blood on my coat." "I don't like rats," she said angrily, reloading the two weapons. "Zombies are cake... but rats." She suppressed a shudder. "Calm it, Altic." Range flicked his tail at her. "Rats aren't going to hurt you." They walked maybe fifty feet in silence. Dusty scanned the tunnel ahead for any movement, quite glad to see nothing. Yew perked her ears. "I hear something." Esekiel paused, the constant click-clacking of his talons on the concrete subsiding. "You've got quite the ear, Yew." He shrugged her off. "I don't hear anything." It was Altic who stopped them again. "I hear it," she said fearfully. She shone her light ahead frantically. "I can not be the only one hearing this." Dusty perked his ears. He could hear something. It was a scuttling, similar to Esekiel's claws on the concrete, but much more quiet. His eyes widened in terror as he realized just what the sound was. "Anypony think it's a good idea to look behind us?" Dusty tracked Altic's light as she turned to look behind him. Her light shone down the way they had come and Dusty felt his jaw go slack. "G-g-g-guys," Atlic stammered, taking a step back, shaking in fear. Rats, hundreds of them. They crowded the tunnel behind him, flowing over the rails like a black wave. Their little red eyes shone in the light, nothing but empty orbs. Range turned around to look back, eyes widening substantially. "To answer your question, Esekiel..." He gulped. "Yes, rats can be infected." The others had turned as well now, balking at the sight. "I believe it would be in our best interests to—" "Run!" Altic screamed in a shrill voice. Her hooves blurred below her and she shot up the tunnel, practically leaving her coat behind. "Yes." Range turned away and took chase after the mare. "Take advice from Altic. Run!" Yew fired the two rifles on her back, but hardly made a dent. Wherever her bullets hit, rats went up in little puffs of blood, but more just took their place. Dusty grabbed her by the tail and pulled her back. "Bullets ain't gonna do no good! Come on, run!" "Zombie rats," Range panted. "What is Equestria coming to?" Altic paused a moment to look back at them. "Come on!" she screamed. Her eyes literally popped from her head as she looked at the horde of little black creatures right on their tails. She turned away again, running just a little ahead now. "Rats. Why rats?" "Because everypony hates you!" Range hollered back, wheezing. "Oh, wow, I am out of shape." "Now is not the time, Range!" "Do you two always act like this?" Dusty panted as he ran alongside the others. Whatever he had, flu or not, it was having its effect on his body. Yew shone her light on a ladder up ahead, bolted to the side of the tunnel. "Range, is that it?" He magically righted his glasses to look at where she shone her light. "Yes!" Dusty didn't even bother to draw his revolver as Range took to the ladder, climbing it up the side of the tunnel. Six shots would be useless against the sea of rats behind them. He looked back to find Altic still running down the tunnel, past the point where the rest of them had stopped. "Hey, mare! Altic!" he called. "Come back!" She skidded to a halt and looked back at him in mild confusion. "Are you crazy!?" Dusty chewed his bottom lip as his eyes darted between Range, and the wave of zombie rats closing in on them. Yew chomped on the bit of her battle saddle and lit up the two rifles, tearing scars in the advancing pests. "I advise that you hurry, Range!" she growled. Range pounded his hooves on the panel from the top of the ladder. "Horseapples! It's padlocked." He looked down. "Griffon! Cut this lock off." Esekiel, who had been standing back trying not to look completely useless, sprang into action. Flaring his wings to their full size, he managed to lift himself to the roof with some effort. Altic joined Yew in fighting back the rats. Although their barrage of fire seemed to slow the rodents, they were still coming, ten feet and gaining. "Fucking zombie rats," Altic said through clenched teeth, firing one SMG while she reloaded the other. Dusty looked up in time to see Esekiel slash through the lock holding the maintenance hatch closed. The griffon shoved the hatch open and climbed through. A taloned arm reached out and pulled Range up through the square opening like he was no more than a stuffed doll. "Come on!" Dusty yelled to the two mares. "Door's open!" Without waiting for a response, he flared his wings and flew up to the roof to pull himself into the maintenance room. Yew's rifles clicked on empty and she jumped for the ladder. She pulled her way up it, the bolts groaning under her weight. "Altic, come on!" "Crap, coming!" The mare retreated, climbing up onto the latter and firing her automatics down at the rats that had begun to pool below. She reached the halfway point as Yew pulled herself through the hatch. There was a clang as several rusty bolt heads sheared out of the wall. Altic's eyes went wide in terror and she froze halfway up the ladder. She turned and looked back, down at the pool of rats that was beginning to form, piling up like water seeping from a geyser. Range pushed forward and held a hoof out to her. "Altic, come on!" Slowly, the mare crept up another rung, wincing as the steel groaned. "Don't worry, Altic, it's only an old, creaky ladder," she reassured herself. "And if you fall off it you'll be eaten by rats." She crept up another rung and another bolt sheared away from the wall. Range leaned out a bit further. "Come on, Altic, just a couple more feet." She hugged close to the wall, shaking in fear. "Heh, I guess you don't hate me." She looked down again and moaned. "You drive me crazy, Altic, but it would hurt me to see you die. Now come on!" Altic crept up another half a foot, biting her lip as the steel groaned its protest. There was another clang and the ladder fell away from the wall to lodge against the roof. Altic cried out and clutched on for dear life. "You gotta' move, Altic." Range held out his hoof for her, sweat beading on his brow. "I can't pull you up if I can't reach you." "Damn rats." The mare scurried her way up the ladder, now close enough to grasp Range's hoof. She reached out, and the ladder below her dropped. With a cry, she leapt, propelling herself into the air. Range reached out and wrapped his hoof around hers just as she began to fall. There was a crunch and a clatter as the ladder crashed to the floor amongst the pool of rats. Range smiled at the blue mare dangling from his hoof. "That was a close one." She rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, flirt once I'm not dangling for my life." "Right." With the help of Esekiel, they pulled Altic up through the hatch, into the maintenance room. Altic curled herself up into a ball as Esekiel closed the hatch below them, shutting off the sound of the rats' relentless scuttling and squeaking. "Of all the monsters in Equestria... it had to be rats... It had to be rats." Range stopped down beside her, nuzzling her flank. "There now, we're fine; you're fine. Stop with the waterworks." His expression softened a little. "Okay?" She looked up at him, eyes wide and bloodshot. "O-okay." She relaxed a little, her breathing slowing. "T-thanks, Range." Esekiel flicked a talon across the gray stallion's ear. "And you said you didn't like her." Range hissed under his breath. "Yes, she's snappy and pushy and rude and annoying, and it drives me crazy! But it sticks to me." Dusty took the small pause to look around the room. It wasn't much, dingy, gray concrete seeping from moisture. A small air handler sat in a corner, its mechanics rusted and seized from age. A vent, roughly two feet wide, ran out of the side of the machine and through the wall. As if she had been watching his eyes, Yew trotted over to the vent and rapped on it with a hoof. "Esekiel, mind getting this open for us?" Esekiel shrugged and sauntered over to the vent, raising the talons on his right arm and examining them. "These things aren't invincible you know. They do get dull." She nudged him, her action proving about the same as nudging a brick wall. "Yeah, but I've seen you sharpening them on whatever's around when you think nopony's looking." He gave her a warning look. "It comes in handy." Tuning away, he focussed on the vent and, with terrifying force, slashed downwards. He then did two horizontal swipes and one more vertical. There metal squealed and sparked and the side of the vent fell inward. Roughly, the griffon grabbed the sheet of metal and pulled it out of the way to toss it away to the corner of the room. Dusty folded his ears. "Jeesh... Now that's just scary." Esekiel stepped aside and beckoned them forward like a chauffeur. "Your ride awaits." Altic leered at him, having regained most of her composure. "A Griffon... with a sense of humor?" She snorted. "What planet are you from?" Esekiel glared, giving her a push that knocked her on her rump. "Well excuse me for not trying to fit a stereotype. I could claw your ear off if you'd like." Altic picked herself up with a little less gusto than she had previously possessed. "Right, you could kill us all in ten seconds flat. I got the point." "Just a question," Dusty chimed. "Are all griffons like you? Cause' I only met the ones that were all zombified and they were pretty nasty." He looked to Dusty, then cast a sidelong glance to Altic. "No, half the griffons would kill you in ten seconds flat if you so much as sneezed at them. So you should feel real lucky that I haven't slit your throat while you sleep." She looked a little fearful, but held her stance. "I'm pretty sure we both know why you wouldn't slit any throats, especially not mine." Range cleared his throat loudly. "Esekiel, if you could do the honors." He motioned towards the vent. "You need to cut us out at the end, and there's not exactly room for us to go climbing around each other in there." The griffon looked at the opening for a moment, then nodded. "Okay." he stooped down and shoved his head through the hole, dragging his body behind him and tucking his wings in close to his back. He stuck halfway in, grunted, sucked in his belly, then shoved himself through with his hind legs. "A bit tight in here," he muttered. Range followed Esekiel, removing the two rifles from the battle saddle and sliding them in ahead of him. Altic took after him while Yew removed her rifles as well. Dusty fell in next, followed at the back by Yew. The vent was a bit of a squeeze for a pony. Dusty felt bad for the griffon at the front. he must really be having troubles. He noticed claw marks in the steel as he pulled himself forward, illuminated in yew's light. Obviously, the griffon was having a bit of trouble pulling himself forward. "So," Altic grunted as they shimmied forward. "What if this vent doesn't lead where you say it does and we can't find a way out?" "Then you'd better learn how to swim through rats." Yew said from the back. "Don't curse us, Altic. We're doing good so far." The five of them pushed through the vent in silence for about five minutes. Dusty found that the inside of the vent was very dirty, coated with soot and ash. Soon, his coat was stained and ruined, turned black from the soot. He assumed the others were faring the same way. It seemed like a decade before he finally heard Esekiel call out, followed by the squeal of the ventilation shaft as it was torn through. There was a rush of fresh air and a burst of natural light around Altic, and he found himself longing to get out of the whole mess. When it came his turn to pull himself out of the vent, he nearly cheered. Fresh sunlight bathed his blackened coat and he flared his wings to shake out the soot. Esekiel snorted. Fluffing up his feathers, he shook his whole body, filling the air with black dust. "Go first why don't you," he muttered. "You're all lucky I was up front rubbing off most the soot." "Thank you very much," Yew replied, shaking her tail with a flat expression. "It's better than blood," she muttered. Dusty looked around. They had torn out of the vent on the roof of a parkplace for wagons. A few chariots and an old skywagon remained, its inner workings salvaged. Far off in the distance, his eye caught a plume of smoke, curling into the afternoon sky. They had traveled farther than he had originally thought. They were a good two miles away from the engine. Range walked up beside Dusty, eyes squinted behind his glasses. "So, that's our way out of here..." Yew walked up beside them. "How are we supposed to make it that far across the city?" Altic snorted, shaking soot out of her mane. "Beats me. I'll tell you one thing though. I am not going anywhere near another tunnel." Dusty had momentary thoughts of moving the engine closer, but noted that they were nowhere near the tracks. Moving the engine would do no good. Also, Snowglobe probably hadn't had enough time to fix the tubes yet. Speaking of Snowglobe. He flared his wings "Hey, ah left some ponies back at the train, an' ah need to go check on things. Ah'll be—" Before he could continue, there was a heavy blow to his side, and when he came to, he found himself pinned on his back. Esekiel stood over him, looking down, his eyes cool and contemplative. One set of talons rested on his chest, holding him down with enough force to hurt, but not to draw blood. "You aren't leaving." "Ah, what the hay?" Dusty winced as the griffon's grip tightened. "Easy with the claws. Those things are like knives." "Esekiel!" Yew yelled in a semi-outrage. "What are you doing?" He never looked up, even as the mare butted him in the side. "I'm playing it safe." Dusty looked to the others for help. Altic sat back like she didn't give a hoot if the griffon disemboweled him, and Range was contemplating the scene calmly, his two rifles mounted back in the saddle he wore. "I've been backstabbed far too many times, for far too long." He flicked his tail towards the other three ponies. "These three, they've earned my trust. You haven't." Dusty gulped. "Could ah ask that you don't open me like a can of beans?" A bolt of pain seared through his head and he pinched his eyes shut. When he opened them again, Esekiel was still glaring down at him. "You can fly, which means you can find us a route." Dusty winced as the talons pricked at the soft flesh of his underbelly. "Ack, it's fine." He coughed. "But why you gotta' go an' throw me to the ground?" He tried to breathe lightly; the griffon wasn't giving him any give. "I'm sorry, Dusty," Yew chirped. "But, I kind of have to agree with him. We could really use an eye in the sky." "I've never liked you pegasi." Esekiel leaned in close. "Remember when I said I would do anything, to survive?" "Right." He gulped again. "Ah'll stay with all of you." Esekiel loosened his grip a little. "Good... But a warning, lightweight." He drove one talon painfully into the pegasus' coat, causing him to cry out as blood welled around the area. "If you try anything, then I'll slice you open like a bag of flour, and watch what pours out." 


	15. Chapter 15

t like this,it.

Where** Dusty asked quietly, very well aware of the jinx he could cause with those temperamental words. **

**They had left the parking platform in the distance, and had since made maybe a good four-hundred yards from it; the pace was slow, terribly slow. Although they hadn**I have a theory to , the zombies would die off from hunger or wound infection after the first week or two, right?You

**re somewhere near two months in, and so far, they **

**Esekiel growled. **

**Range flicked his eyes towards the griffon. m implying that these things have more than just primal instincts. They wouldn't be alive if all they knew how to do was eat and kill. You must wonder where they all disappear to?s flat expression. re resting.**What? Are you saying that you think these things are intelligent?Intelligent, no. But they have the basic necessities that an animal needs to remain alive. Think of a wolf; they eat, sleep, hunt, and seek shelter from the elements. These things, these, zombies, they arent very smart, but they have , you these things kind of act like wolves?No, not like wolves. Im saying, theyt know if yout jump anymore. They have the preservation drive, which makes them much more they still run at you. Sure, they donre still dumb enough to run at a pony with a attracts them,They react to the smell of blood too. Gunshots don

**Dusty nodded in perfect understanding. d you figure all this out?**I watched. Why do you think I** Continuing on the premise that his question was rhetorical: t make any sense at all. Collecting consistent observations is about as effective as trying to light a candle in a typhoon.**Is that what I think it is?I wonder how many of these babies Canterlot what is it?This, my feathered friend, is an Equestrian-defense all-terrain combat ** Range clarified. s based off of a new technology discovered about two years ago. At the time, the ponies sitting on the coal mines wanted to keep it all really hush, because it could have put them out of business, so they all paid out the flank to keep ponies quiet. About six months ago, somepony blabbed and they wound up dead in an alley, but by then, the secret was out. You see **

**Yew said in a deadpan. **

**He flushed. He adjusted his glasses. s powered by something called magical liquid combustion. A group of scientist ponies found these underground wells of magical liquid, then from there, they set to the task of building a device that could utilize it. You see, this stuff, it cant run off it. Some pony I cans just what he did. It was a crazy thought; he proposed to use magical balefire to separate the magic from the container that was the liquid. Well, it worked... explosively. In short, this reaction drives a set of gears, which turns a shaft at very high speeds. It As he spoke, he worked at prying open the hatch, which didn**Somehow, this stuff is formed in the ground, some sort of seep from friendship and love or stuff** He got the hatch up a little more. **

**Yew said with minor annoyance. d they fix it?**They didnt a lot of it.

s out there, it

**Yew crept slowly around the front of the metal monster. d they leave this thing in the street? If this thing really does move around like it looks like it does, there **

**Altic yelled from the other side of the tank. **

**Range finally managed to wrestle the hatch open and he poked his head into the dark circle. s salvageable.**Come on, cool and all, but we don

**Range screamed and backpedaled, his hooves scrabbling for purchase on the smooth steel. He overbalanced and his hind legs shot into the air, then he was gone. **

**Yew sprang forward. **

**There were three gunshots, muffled from inside the steel shell. **

**There was a clunk from inside the turret, and another, smaller click. Without warning, the cannon of the tank discharged. The front end of the beast reared up into the air as the muzzle roared. Dusty**Shoot it!which wasnupon the hatch to keep the creature from slipping out. The zombie lunged forwards, nearly tossing Range off the hatch as it bucked upwards. He held on, beating the thing atop its head with his forehoof as it tried to twist its head around to bite him.

**Range yelled again, more frantic. Yew backed up to take aim with her rifles, but Esekiel was faster. In less than a second, he had the rifle off his back and aimed. The hammer dropped on the revolving rifle and a line of fire flashed from around the cylinder, accompanied by a crack and a bang that echoed around the streets. Range hid his face from the spray of blood and bone as she shot struck, pitting the steel of the turret below the zombie**Damn!Theres... there

**He climbed down from the tank, looking just a little embarrassed. He paused. **

**Dusty found himself gaping at Esekiel as the griffon returned the rifle to its holster. s that rifle meant to shoot? Dragons?** , yes what?Come on,Is not sit around and wait for them.I would like to apologise for this.s rifle discharged with a throaty bang, and a quarter-second later, the lead zombie kissed the cobblestone sprouting blood from its chest.

**cursed the unicorn stallion. m off mark.t help but grin as five more behind it went down. **

**Yew made two quick motions with her right hoof and flicked her left ear. s go!t help but be impressed at his sister**We need to get off the street.t see them, doesnre not there. Zombies poured from the most unimaginable places, out of alleys, windows, dumpsters even. Dusty groaned as he watched a few pegasi dive out of an upper story window.

**Dusty asked as Yew strafed and alley with gunfire. **

**The group of four below him broke apart and bolted for a three story apartment at the end of the street. Altic yelled, taking up the lead. **

**Dusty flew backwards above them, trying his best to keep an eye on the skies, since they pretty much had the ground covered. He was beginning to understand their tactics. Range served as their ranged attack, and often provided support. Yew served as their midrange with her twin assault rifles. Altict know what he was for wing as the bullet shattered the humerus and it went into a spiral and fell to the street for a cheesegrater landing. **

**Was his aim really that far off? **

**Six zombies flowed out of an alley ahead of them and Altic lit them up with her automatics, a little smirk plastered on her face. **

**It only took them a moment to reach the end of the street, but to Dusty it felt like an hour. This fleeing pace was one he was still relatively new to. Sure, he had run from zombies beforethey had to live. **

**Yew bellowed. She stood in the open doorway of the apartment building, the others already having crossed the threshold. **

**Hurriedly, he dropped to the ground and rushed through the doorway, firing Valediction at the mass that charged the front steps. The hammer clicked on an empty chamber and he jumped back. **

**Yew slammed the door once he was through and threw her back against it. **

**Dusty looked up at her from reloading his revolver. m sorry. Ah was kind of out of it **Well letre right.** Asked Range cheekily, flipping on his light. **

**Altic flipped on her own light and took off at a thunderous pace, forcing the others to keep up. **

**At the end of the hall, they passed through a doorway labeled with a plaque that read, . The pounding of their hooves on the wood floor quieted as they crossed onto the checkered linoleum. Altic sprang nimbly over a loaded laundry basket, leaving Range to trip in her wake. **

**The stallion stumbled for a moment before regaining himself. m pretty sure that you **

**A brown mare with a charcoal mane exploded out from behind a washer and tackled him to the floor. Range screamed as he slid across the linoleum, the mare biting and snapping at him as he held her face away with his forehooves. **

**It was Esekiel who reacted the fastest. In glimpses of Ranges free arm moved to her lower body and and clamped tight around her belly. One talon turned one way, and the other the opposite way. He wrung the mare like a towel, twisting her nearly three-hundred and sixty degrees before her spine snapped and her ribs began to crack and stab through the flesh. Like she was nothing more than an expended magazine, he tossed her away, putting a spin on her trajectory. The zombie mare hit a double-stack washer and dryer with a bong and a crunch, toppling the heavy appliances. **

**Altic cried, dashing back to where he lay. re not bit!**Tell me you

**Range groaned and sat up. m not bit.**Thank got a bite out of my binoculars though.A lucky pony you is the fourth time you have saved my life.I hope I** He winced at a crash from the front of the building. **

**Yew started forward, taking the lead. **

**A wide grin spread across Range**What do I get for being close, Altic?Whatever you want if we make it out of the do realize the extremities of the word, ?Help me with this!Anything short of choking 

**They were running again, down the semi-dark alleyway. It was always running. They rounded a corner between stacked bags of garbage and an old bedframe. Ahead was another door, which Yew led them through. **

**They had crossed into a diner. Rotten and decayed remnants of ponies**Why are we stoppin** He leaned up against one of the booths. **

**Range hopped the bartop almost blissfully. ll check the freezer.**Food,I could eat a of you ponies could probably eat a whole it, birdbrain.s Warming Eve. **he chided. **

**re a coltcuddler?**You wish,Don** He snickered at the wry look she gave him. He paused for dramatic effect. His horn glowed and the door behind him burst open to accompany a food trolley loaded with all sorts of everyday food that was now a delicacy. **

**Dusty cast a quick look around at the others before sitting down between Altic and Yew. There wasn**Aren

**Range shook his head. t smart enough to track you down. If a pony is bleeding... well thatre bleeding, you might as well be leaving pointy arrows behind you lighting the way you He tossed the thought aside, digging in the food trolley from behind the bar and coming up with several colored tubs. ve got vanilla and Rocky Road **

**Altic magically snatched the brown tub from his grasp. **

**Dusty more than gladly accepted a box of hayfries, the others receiving similar restaurant food. **

**Altic shrugged, pulling her muzzle out of the ice cream tub to look at the carrots placed before her. s too bad you couldn She set the ice cream aside and dug ravenously into the frostbitten plate of carrots. gooth in a bagth,**It

**Esekiel actually grinned a little as he grabbed one of the bottles out of the air and flicked the cap off with a talon. he complimented. **

**Dusty squinted over at Altic, who had already demolished half of the carrots on her plate. **

**she said casually. s Dusty, right?** trying to make smalltalk, so I** She slammed the bottle back down to the bartop. **

**Dusty, who had been about to take a bite of hayfry, stopped. **

**She grinned a little. She flicked her tail**You have no idea how many tips I got.I think those mares that slink around the poles just look like confused firecolts.t help but think that the mare looked very nice, even covered in blood and dirt and soot. m not gonnad probably throw them at you lightly, it. Everypony** She turned to Dusty. ll tell you what the bouncers used to say. Look all you want, but touch and I **

**He nodded again. He blinked the awkward expression off his face. d you make it this far?**Get this. I had heard all these radio broadcasts about these issues and a huge sickness in the central city. The club I worked at was a bit out of the downtown it

**Dusty tucked into the hayfries as he listened intently. **

**t know how long it was, but when I finally crept out from under that bed, it was all quiet...**I was scared, and I didnt trust them. They

**Dusty made a motion towards her. d you end up so...**You?It was maybe a week or so in... I was poking around this hotel, and there were these survivors. I was too scared to face them, so I hid in the janitor

**The diner had gone quiet, everypony listening intently to the light-blue mare. Dusty felt a little bad for invoking this mood in her. Something about the way she was speaking leaked sadness like a wet sponge. Her tone lacked its normal on-top-of-the-world air, and was now low and meek, as if she were being forced to tell something she didn**At first, they just talked... But then the two stallions attacked them. They shot the other stallion and beat the mare down, took their guns. They pulled off her barding... The bigger one held her down and** She choked back a small sob, eyes shimmering. **

**Range hopped the counter to stand beside her, resting a hoof on her shoulder. Take it easy, Altic.**There was a fire axe on the wall. I snuck out of the closet and levitated it off the wall, and went up behind them. The first one didn** She spat the line like she was mad at it. She shook in Range**Her guts sprayed me... Thatd killed, and I swung. The first one hit him i-in the leg. He went down, and I swung again, this time in the side. He cried; he asked me to stop. But... I j-j-just swung, and swung, and ** Range muttered as she leaned into him. He shot a glare to Dusty, and the pegasus made an apologetic gesture. he mouthed. **

**re no better than those fucking zombies!**If I could kill a pony, kill a pony in front of their very eyes, hack them up with a fire axe, then I could kill a zombie. Now... now it

**Dusty realized his mouth had fallen open a little and he hurriedly closed it. m sorry for **

**She straightened up suddenly, eyes cold. d forgotten who we were. There was no love, no morale. The ponies that lived, lived for a reason, I say. You need friends in this mess. Without friends you either go insane, or die alone.**Tell me, Dusty, where would you be without your friends? And dont have them, because I can see it in your somewhere in the desert...When this is over... if, this ever ends, wet alive in those years, but I** She wiped a tear from her eye and gave Dusty a perfectly-level look. **

**He was at a complete loss for words. It felt like somepony had shoved an egg beater in his good ear and turned his brain to mashed potatoes and gravy. t know.**When you find out, make sure to remember the past, to better the future. The only thing left for us is each other... makes a good point,This is a time of redemption, not just for ponies, but for everyone. Griffons, zebras, ponies... 

**She laughed cruelly. **

**The griffon shrugged. s never too late to start.**Yew patted him on the back.

**he choked, head spinning. **

**Range clicked his tongue worriedly. s not a very good sign.**Donm fine.t allow his body language to show it.

Yew sat back, eyeing him worriedly. **She sighed, shaking her head. **

**s been hours,**How long has it been since those gunshots?About half an ** she added. **

**Jade nodded, her ears perked. **

**s with them?**Maybe. It makes me wonder how he could have gotten so far from that building.

Sage shrugged.

**Moon stood, flicking her ears dismissively. **

**Sage brushed Jade off and scrambled to her hooves, making a small ruckus on the wooden roof of the boxcar. She trotted to the edge of the boxcar and started down a mounted ladder. She cast a look to Jade and blushed slightly. **

**Moon followed her down while Jade flared her wings and gently lowered herself to the track. She grinned a little. **

**Sage frowned at the mangled remains of the boxcar door. It had been smashed and splintered, bent aside and torn from the tracks. s pretty bad.**There was some sort of fight in here. I had only peeked in the was that?Hey, Brick,What are you doing in here?Is it one of us?Zombie?Right. Good idea clearing out the cars.s eyes shot open. They swirled in their sockets for a moment before looking up at Moon, the whites bloodshot.

She let out a long breath that gargled in her throat. s about time you found to do it myself.s heart sunk. She sat back and sighed, the shotgun in her magical grasp suddenly feeling very heavy. t want hurts, in my mind. Half of me wants to die, and the other half of me wants to tear your throat out with my teeth.W-why didn** Moon asked. **

**The mare closed her eyes and sighed. d bleed out... b-but I stopped bleeding. By then, I was too weak to yell.**Soon would be nice,IShoot me!Now!What are you w** The weapon fired off in the dark, blowing out the mare **

**Sage practically materialized at Moon**What happened!?Infected,It notice me.I was talking to , only got two barrels of water left, but that shouldnre out of the desert. Itm worried about.t believe the way in which the two mares had just shrugged the whole ordeal off. She had just shot a pony through the head, and they acted as she had done nothing more than scratched her ear.

Moon sighed and hung her head. ll have to make on. Let

**s going to rain,t noticed it. **

**They currently paced over a hoofbridge spanning a large courtyard. The courtyard below was a sea of multicolored shapes. None of the group knew why there were so many zombies in that one spot, but they were glad that the mass hadn**How do you know they towards us?I can smell it.I don

**Altic looked over at him. t had rain in a month.** the weather pegasi controlling the weather, things get pretty crazy. The weather goes rogue. This storm is going to be nasty. Without ponies to discharge the thunderheads...Rain and electricity,We** Range continued. s a good thing we Thunder boomed in the distance and he folded his ears. **

**They reached the end of the hoofbridge and wound up on some sort of campus. Buildings popped up here and there between sidewalks shaded by large evergreens sprouting from the browning grass. **

**Esekiel cast a prying eye to Dusty. **

**Dusty thought a moment, trying to work around the now-constant throbbing in his head. He pointed off between two, double story buildings made of tanned brick. **

**Yew drew their attention with a quick toss of her head. s where you say it is?**There

**Atlic gave a little sigh of relief. She looked around at their puzzled expressions. s idea was it to stack a bunch of steps on top of each other and expect a pony to climb it vertically? Hooves aren **

**Range rolled his eyes. t a matter of ergonomics; it was a matter of getting a non-pegasus pony to go up with as little space and resources used as possible.**Still, I hate climbing ladders.I don

**She glared at him. **

**Their crossing of the courtyard went fairly easily. Three times, Range had to stop them to pick off a zombie from a distance, but apart from that, the campus was dead. **

**No matter how much Dusty thought about it, he just could not wrap his mind around how zombies reacted to gunshots. He remembered back to Desert Sage, where several times, hordes of zombies had come running when they had fired their weapons. Then there had been times when they wouldn**Mr. tour guide, what place is this?What, this?s deadpan expression. s a school, an advanced school for learning the industrial arts. At the rate the roster would fill up for this place, you

**Altic jabbed. **

**Range grinned. **

**Altic drawled in an old, rickety voice. She grinned at him. **

**Range said dangerously, t attracted to know-it-all stallions that were twice their age.**It** she pouted. m allowed to like ponies who are bigger and older than me.**Honestly, do you two have to talk about sex all the time?s back. s like a waiter at a restaurant who waits us, and hewhat would you and your daughter like today?we. Then thered like some ** She switched to a more insistent tone, **

**Yew hung her head and sighed. re talking about sex again.**Are you even of age?Or am I a statutory rapist? young and attractive and hot-to-trot, and I am one lucky stallion who still can not stand your attract,t really find much point in partaking in conversation, so he mostly remained silent. Apart from Yew, he didnI don

**Altic walked with a little caution, but otherwise seemed unphased. s there to worry? They **

**Range peered closely at the bloated body of an earth pony. t any older than a week.**I guess we

**Amongst one of the larger piles of bodies, Dusty eyed the corpse of a mare in battle saddle. Her guts had been torn out and she had a single bullet through her forehead. She didn**Well, that

**For the rest of their trot across campus, there was nothing. **

**Snowglobe grunted, focussing with all of her magical strength on holding the two ends of a pipe together as she welded the seam with an oxy-fuel welder and filler stick. **

Damnit!Looking !Take it easy!Don

**Copper flared his wings and smoothed the ruffled feathers. t mean to,bwong**Well, you for trying to burn you.S

**She blew air out her nose. She thought for a moment, recalling a fact about the red pegasus. re from that REA wagon that crashed, right?**The one and only... considering all the others are .Its just sort of, why me, you know? I survived the infection, somehow, and now, the only of a dozen that lived... Apart from Candy, maybe.I worked at a hospital part time, mostly doing electrical maintenance. The day I was called in was the day they locked the whole building down because of the virus. I mean, I I

**He sat back on his haunches and spread his forehooves. t we all?**

**Snowglobe was sure she picked up something in his voice and blushed. She tossed a wrench into the open toolbox by her hooves with a clatter. m taken.**Oh... Oh was a compliment, not a pick up ... I figured, since you were a stallion and Is how it always works.I don** he replied simply. **

**She blinked. **

**He rubbed his neck. m a **Good for find it funny when I say , I like mares... so... really not that much of a shocker. We** She frowned at her metaphor. re paddling different ways.**That

**There was a deafening crack of thunder and Snowglobe jumped like a spooked cat, the hair on her back fluffing up. There was a chilled blast of air, and with it came a cover of thick clouds, blotting out the sun. **

**Copper unfurled a wing and slung it comfortingly over her back. re fluffy,**Are you sure yout say no without making things really really awkward?It I?s mind was chocked full of controversial thoughts. For some reason, she was finding great comfort from Copper pressed against her, his wing over her back, his warmth. She felt good and bad about it at the same time. She felt bad, because it felt like a betrayal to Dusty, liking the touch of another pony, and good, because it was cozy.

Somepony needed to beat some sense into her. Either she was turning straight, or she had a thing for pegasi. Sure, Moon was still quite a sight, and Jade was eye candy. Recently, though, she had been looking at stallions, pegasi to be exact, the same way she looked at mares.

A raindrop fell her her nose and she sneezed.

Copper looked around at the cloudy skies, mane whipping about his face. s getting pretty nasty.s wing off and immediately wishing she hadnThe good news is, I

**s the bad news?**No bad ** She grunted, focussing with her magic to yank the wrench around. She tightened four more in silence, then levitated herself up to the top of the locomotive. Copper remained beside her to keep under the magical umbrella. **

**re we doing up here?**Dusty said we were having an issue with boiler pressure before we stopped, so I

**Copper nodded, then frowned. **

**She gave a little laugh, pacing across the top of the engine in the increasing wind and rain. **

**he answered flatly. **

**Her eyes picked out something. The first safety valve had been damaged, bent over and crushed against the top of the engine. s not good.**Can you fix... whatever it is?No, we need a whole new one, and given the fact that finding a pressure release valve for an engine this size while stuck on a elevated track in the middle of a zombiefied city...We can make do with one, but its a chance that the boiler could build pressure faster than the one valve can release it.s expression changed from mildly-intrigued to worried.

**Snowglobe looked up. **

**The explosion rocked the entire building as four ponies and a griffon took cover behind the walk-in kitchen counter of an apartment. **

**Range said, his voice rustled. s your door!t on the top floor of this current building. The next rooftop over was about ten feet below. The jump to the building was not a pretty one, ten feet over an alley seven stories down. **

**Range said irritably as he examined the jump. **

**re always around to blow shit up,**Until I run out of , what we

**s skepticism became prominent as she stood right before the jump. ll stay on the street and get eaten.**I always heard stories about ponies who went into some sort of retreat and allowed themselves to be trapped on a I would always wonder, how the hay would a pony be stupid enough to allow themselves to be trapped on a rooftop?Well, now I of a whore!Come on!Go!Bu

**he bellowed. Lunging forward, he swiped madly with his talons, making himself some sort of hybrid between a griffon and a blender. By now, the seemingly never-ending horde had pushed the fist five feet into the apartment. **

**Yew shook her head and reached for the firing bit. t!t seem to realize he was there. If only she would jump, he could catch her. **

**Somehow, Yew managed to avoid hitting Esekiel as he hacked and slashed, pushed steadily backwards. **

**Dusty felt terribly helpless. From here, he couldn't do a thing, and Range and Altic were ten feet down, unable to aid as well. **

**Esekiel and yew were pushed to the very edge of the building, fighting side-by-side, ringing up the body count. **

**Esekiel looked over to Yew, his face reading agonizing remorse. m sorry for this.**Sorry for whaaah!s world slowed, eyes unbelieving. Esekiel made to hurl Yew, throw her towards the door inside the apartment, and to her death. The griffons mind, and only now did he understand exactly what Esekiel had meant. ll soon learn, I will do whatever I can to !s head whirring.

When Esekiel looked back to Dusty, remorse read deeply on his face, his expression layered with that empty look of sudden realization.

He turned and swung the mare around, letting out a yell of physical exertion. Yew left his grasp, soaring out over the alleyway in a tumbling mass. She whacked to the building below and rolled to a disoriented stop.

Esekiel screeched and turned back to the apartment, but by this point it no longer mattered. He had spared his last few seconds on Yew. The first zombie struck him square in the chest; he managed to withstand the blow and tear its throat out with a yell and a grunt. His hind paws slid right to the very edge and he reared up flaring his wings. Spreading his arms out, he turned his head to the sky in a final cry. Lightning flashed, lighting his silhouette, every feature on his brown and black coat, every feather.

**The entire mass of the horde struck him and his paws slipped from the ledge. He soared backwards, out into the air. It was only a second before he disappeared into the prismatic waterfall. He fell amongst them, wings flared uselessly, eyes screaming. **

**Dusty looked away. The sound of body after body striking the pavement reached his ears, and he winced. **

**Yew had landed in a heap on the roof, moaning. Dusty landed beside her, helping her to a sitting position. **

**Miraculously, the remaining zombies who hadn't fallen had either given up, or were too smart to jump. **

**Yew gasped, pushing to her hooves unsteadily. She rounded on Dusty. **

**Dusty placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder and shook his head. **

**Tears filled her eyes almost immediately, and she shoved him away. t be dead!**Ah

**she screamed, running over to the edge of the building to look down. **

**Dusty blinked, confused and hurt. **

**She backed away from the edge and glared at him through heaving sobs. re going to die!**Yew...Sweet Celestia... I

**Yew seemed to realize the implications of what she had blurted, and her ears folded flat to her head. m sorry. I didn**No,You** Suddenly going numb, he flopped over on his side. d been tryin **

**Yew nudged him back to his hooves. s nothing I can say, Dusty. Youll always love you.**We need to go!What happened to Range?It** Range answered. **

**Yew threw a look to Dusty, then to the elevated track, which was only a block away. The engine crouched upon the tracks, the lamp slicing into the rain, lighting every tiny drop of water like a million tiny fireflies. re close.**Where

**Yew hung her head and fought back another sob. Dusty shook his head at Range. **

**Range shook his head slowly. m going to miss that bipolar griffon.t seem real, and if it wasn**Dusty!I

**He blinked a few times. **

**s a pony calling you.**Dusty!Is that you!?Yeah!Who

**t dead!**She was gonna be the one, 

**Copper, who had been standing in front of the firebox, wings spread out as he warmed himself, jumped. **

**She magically turned a few knobs that Dusty had taught her the operation of, coaxing a hiss from the engine. Magically, she started floating coal to the firebox, layering it evenly, feeling the air around grow hot. Reaching over, she pulled the lever that activated the coal screw below the floor. **

**Copper asked, looking around. **

**t really matter at this point. It **

**There was a blinding flash of light and a bang that seemed to shake the world. A power pole fifty feet away went up like a torch, liquid fire shooting down the wires and burning the rubberized outer coating. **

**Copper jumped backwards, rearing up on his hind legs. His eyes darted about frantically. **

**Snowglobe nodded. They were the highest thing within a half-mile radius. It was a rather unfortunate bonus that their engine was made entirely of iron and stood fourteen feet tall. **

**The wind picked up, throwing the rain horizontally against the side of the cab. **

**It was maybe five minutes before Snowglobe heard the clatter of hooves on the metal staircase leading to the cab, and four ponies charged into the small space. The first one was Dusty, then a brown mare and a gray stallion leaning heavily on light-blue mare. **

**Snowglobe cried, meeting him halfway across the cab. **

**he said in monotone, avoiding her eye. He pushed by her and examined the gauges. ve done good keeping things prim. We **

**She blinked, taken aback by his lack of... anything. t guarantee that nothingt much. We just plain lucked out that this bucket had an oxy-fuel welder on board.**Good enough,Run back down the train and make sure everypony

**The mare gave a quick salute with and dashed off. **

**Snowglobe couldn't help but notice that all these ponies were absolutely filthy. They were sopping wet, but that didnt even want to imagine. **

**The lightning struck again, somehow louder than it had already been. **

**Snowglobe crept up behind Dusty as he continued not to look at her. **

**He ignored her. **

**s wrong?**Nothin** He Tensed up, shaking slightly, back still to her. **

**Snowglobe moved up beside him, placing her hoof at the base of his neck. **

**m sorry,**Sorry for what?There was a cut on my belly... a small one. Ah figured it was just a scrape... It was that or the ear... ah don

**It was like getting hit in the chest with a sledgehammer. Snowglobe stepped backwards, shock, and uncountable other emotions playing across her face. She looked at him in disbelief. His disconnected expression looked back, like he wasn**No! Nonononono! Dusty!Ah** he choked. **

**She lunged forward, pushing him against the wall of the cab, tears streaming down her face. **

**He slinked back. m... A-ahm sorry.**How could you!?How could you make me care for you, then do this!?Ah

**She collapsed against the brown mare, sobbing. she asked to the mare, trying to distract herself. **

**The mare stroked Snowglobe**Yew. Dusty

**Snowglobe glared at Dusty. **

**He still wouldn**Didnfigured it wouldn anypony... After all, who would need to know about my dead sister?it was as if her brain had just shut down. She only sat there, quietly, until the light-blue mare returned.

re good,Ah need ponies to shovel,Two for the speed we

**The light-blue mare looked at the gray stallion like she expected him to do something, and he snorted at her. t stand on.**I really would help if I , as Altic and I were discussing earlier, we still have a track to now, ?m sorry, but I think that

**Dusty motioned Range over to him, out of the other Ponies**You thinkinm thinkin

**Range nodded. t going to be able to clear those tracks without catastrophic damage to the engine?** whole district beyond is a sea of zombies. They in a it or not, but you stack enough zombies on the track and it can actually stop a smaller are you two whispering about?This engine ain when we got attacked by griffons, and it ans leakint know gonna need a new engine?As much as ah love this old thing enough water ant gonna last forever, and rather leave her before she gives up on . But I donthe army cleaned Canterlot almost grinned.

**Range**How do you know it

**a few colleagues locked it in a condemned shed at the back of the railyard. Nopony would go near it s asbestos warnin **

**Range snickered. **

**Dusty shrugged. His face returned to it**It

**Range opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated. He nodded. **

**Snowglobe knew that Dusty knew that she was there, but he purposefully kept his voice low. Altic and Yew were busy, hardly even noticing that the stallions were talking. Over the sound of the engine, she was unable to pick up their voices, and didn**Snowglobe, the gray mare behind me,Have her get that gem engine working if it if she knows how it works...And keep this all quiet. Ah know some ponies wonm about to do. Its the only way ah see out of .What was that all about?Don

**Altic went a deep shade of red. ll get a bed for once... The ground makes my back sore.**Two bits says I know what they

**Range grinned, ignoring her. **

**She smirked, going on the defensive. **

**Snowglobe had to leave; the built up tension was just too much. Snowglobe turned away and set a slow pace for the carriages. She wondered if Dusty would miss her presence. In his state, probably not. m going to to talk to Moon,s grasp. **

**s about time we got moving again,**These two haven** Her eyes sparkled for a moment before she looked up at Snowglobe. Worry immediately clouded her face. s wrong? We **

**Snowglobe sniffed. s just the thing... Hes...t finish. **

**Moon asked, her voice squeaking. **

**Snowglobe slumped. **

**Moon**Infected,Moon, I just don

**Moon wrapped a hoof around her neck. **

**Snowglobe tensed. The weirdest sensation was filling her body. Her mane was fluffing out and every hair along her spine had begun to stand straight up. **

**Moon frowned. s ears. **

**Moon jumped into the air. **

**Jade and Sage flew awake in a tangled mess and the pegasus let out her signature squeal. **

**There was a sudden rush of air and the scenery outside the windows went dark. **

**Snowglobe trotted up to the window, fearing the worse. She breathed a sigh of relief. re in a tunnel.**We** Moon yelled. **

**Snowglobe spun around. Moon**You have got to be kidding!There is no way we can be that unlucky!Did... we just get struck by lighting?Somehow,How much ammo do you have for that thing?Only one?It too blatant... Are you mute, or do you just not like to talk?Damnit!Damn this luck! Lighting!? Really!? Come ons just not fair!Are zombies and griffons not enough!?What did we do to deserve this!?At least nopony died this fast are we going!?About sixty,You

**Yew asked. **

**The stallion sat back. **

**Dusty opened the throttle. The already-pounding pistons picked up the pace on the slight downward angle, aided by full steam from the boiler. re wide open?**Locked and sealed. Who could have guessed?A little easy on the sarcasm,Well, I was just** The whole engine jerked like a wagon crashed into the side of a barn. Ranget fare too better. He whole body shot forward and she toppled to the floor. **

**Dusty, having braced himself against the front wall of the cab, received only a small bit of shellshock. **

**Range screamed in agony from where he rolled around on the floor, muscles contorted. **

**The engine howled out of the tunnel in a rush of smoke and twisted steel, shedding remnants of the containment door like a second skin. The driving rods chewed up chunks of steel, clanking and screeching in protest. The burning cars trailed out next, the flame soaring now that it was once again exposed to fresh air. **

**Dusty stooped down to help Range up. **

**he gasped, barely making it to his hooves. His face was dead white. re my glasses?**Did you land on your leg?Shit it hurts.t like the way the engine pitched and groaned as it rounded casual corner at high speeds, but he couldnt long before the armyWhere do we refuel?There** This was another lie. They had removed the coaling tower from the main line of this track quite some time ago. Now, most steam engines had to take on water and coal in a siding. **

**She fixed her eyes on him determinedly. m with you till **

**He shook his head. t want you around for when ah go.**We** Moon yelled, scrambling over the coal tender. **

**Dusty cocked a brow at Moon as she stopped before him. **

**she panted. It was She stopped when she looked into his eyes. **

**He blinked, feeling the blood as it ran from his eyes and down his cheeks. His eyes drifted past Moon, to the railyard that was looming in the distance. He searched for the old locomotive shed amongst the others. **

**t believe this.**Y-you can

**Dusty almost told her to stop right there and then. He didn**D-do you... do you remember that one time back in the hospital, in the hallway, w-when the lights went out?And you saved me from myself? And that pony thought y-y-you were...Dusty...P-please don

**He took a step towards her, teeth bared, bloody saliva dripping from his lips. All he saw was her, and he had to hurt her, had to bite her. **

**Moon yelled. She magically raised the shotgun, still not pointing it directly at him. **

**It was gone. Dusty fell back on his rump. His mouth tasted like copper and his head spun like a top. Both Yew and Moon looked at him fearfully. Range didn**Leave me should get back to the cars. We** He gave the tiniest of nods in Range** ?Yeah.I

**Moon cast a long look to Dusty, then nodded. She offered him her shoulder, and the two made for the first car. **

**Yew said once they were out of earshot. s up.**What are you planning?Itt , Dusty! I abandoned you oncem not going to do it again! This time, I then let , Dusty, I canNo damnit!This is what ah have to do! This is my time, not yours! And for everything Celestia still stands for, ah ain you fall with still got a life to live, whatever of it there may still be left to live. It may be my time, but it

**Yew fell back, stunned. For what seemed like the first time in her life, the mare had no words to speak. **

**Dusty looked back at the gauges. Everything was in check except for the boiler pressure, which was high. He looked back to Yew, and placed a hoof around her neck, leading the saddened mare to the back of the cab. s get you back with the others.**Dusty,You know I love you, right?Ah do. An** He felt weak; his whole body trembled. **

**It was a moment before he and Yew dropped down on the coupling platform at the back of the tender. He heard yelling from the cars behind, and saw the smoke from the flame rising into the air. Everypony had pooled in the first car, Snowglobe and Moon amongst them. The two mares spotted he and Yew, and rushed to meet them on the platform of the car, just outside the shattered doorway. **

**Dusty released Yew as Snowglobe trotted up and nuzzled into his neck. s just not fair.**Ah know it** He wrapped a hoof over her back in a tight hug, which she returned. **

**He could have stood there forever, like that, wrapped in an embrace with the mare he could have very well come to love, but there was something that had to be done, and he was running out of time. **

**Regretfully, he pulled away from her. Her eyes tracked his hoof as it drifted to his right foreleg, and undid the straps holding Valediction and its holster to his leg. **

**she argued meekly. **

**He passed her the aged revolver, and she took it absently in her magic. **

**The mare sniffed. t even like to use **

**he interjected. t need to anymore.**Promise me you

**She nodded and grinned just a little. **

**He looked over to Yew, who had so far remained silent. t you ever stop being bossy.**I never planned on .What are you doing!?Ask Range!I explained it all to him.I love you Dusty!You** Yew called. **

**Fifteen feet. **

**Moon pushed between Snowglobe and Yew. **

**Dusty grinned. **

**Twenty-five feet. **

**Brick appeared on the roof of the carriage, a sad smile spread across his face. He stood up straight and raised his hoof in a salute. **

**Fifty feet. **

**Soon, they were nothing more than specs, drifting away into the mist. Then, they were gone, and that was the last time he would ever see them. **

**The engine was streaking through the railyard by the time he had scaled the tender and returned to the cab. His eyes picked out a familiar engine shed, doors still sealed and locked just as he had remembered them. **

**His attention drifted to the controls. The engine was at war with itself. The gauges danced, half of them high, and several running into the red. **

**he commented to himself. Normally, the safety valves would handle this issue, but for some reason, pressure did not seem to be venting correctly. The coal screw below the deck still supplied the firebox with coal, and he pulled the lever to slow it. **

**Nothing happened. **

**He pushed the lever forward, then all the way back, but the screw still continued to work on its own accord. A quick glance to the pressure gauge told him that it was still steadily building. There was still a ways to go, and the pressure was rising too fast. **

**he whispered. **

**Frantically, he looked for other means of releasing pressure. Stuck by a thought, he reached up and pulled on the whistle, itd be set. **

**Readying for the impact, he braced himself against the front wall of the cab, and waited, heart pounding in his head. **

**The larger engine collided with the front of the smaller in an almighty clash of steel. The engine, while small, still weighed enough so as it was not casually batted away. It stuck where it was as the Big Buck augered into it. The frame of the smaller engine proved weaker, and crumpled like a soup can under the seventy mile per hour impact. The Big Buck shook as steel met steel, nearly lifting off the rails. The smokeboxes of both engines burst, filling the air with an explosion of smoke and soot. Wagon-sized chunks of steel rained about from both engines. **

**The smaller engine folded, smashed like a bug on a windshield. Its length popped and cracked. The boiler was now a hundred and fifty pounds per inch past what it was rated for; it could literally go off at any second. **

**Head spinning, Dusty flopped down in the hotseat, allowing himself to go limp. A sharp, left curve loomed ahead. At this speed, there was no way the engine would make the corner. **

**Ponies were right; your life really did flash before your eyes. Dusty sat back in the cabin, simply letting himself relax. A knob popped right out of the wall in a burst of steam and shot away like a bullet, but he hardly noticed. **

**He saw flashes of everything. His foalhood, leaving his parents, parting with Yew, growing up, work, jobs, mares, Desert Sage, the hospital... Snowglobe... Yew... **

**The Big Buck hit the corner at eighty and the wheels screeched, grinding against the rails. The steel groaned as the engine pitched dangerously to the right. **

**In a daze, he reached up and drew back on the throttle, cutting off steam to the pistons. **

**He felt it. The engine may have been able to flex in the middle, but that didns path as it cut a swathe through the city, whistle howling. The earth shook again as it crashed down on the left side. Eighty more feet it slid before grinding to a stop in the middle of a large park surrounded by double-story buildings. **

**The zombies followed by the thousands, flooding the park from all directions like rising water engulfing an island. **

**The engine groaned and settled, steam leaking from multiple tears and gashes, the wheels that had not been destroyed in the crash spinning down. **

**Dusty blinked his eyes open, laying in a heap on the side of the crushed cab. Blood from a gash on his forehead ran into his eyes and mouth. He reached up a hoof from where he lay on his side and wiped it away. A sharp pain in his chest told him that there were broken ribs. He tried not to look at the bone protruding from the knee of his front, right leg. **

**By now, he figured he would have gotten over the fear, but it was still there. This was it. This was where he was going to die, in the wreck of a once-proud locomotive, alone. **

**He looked up through the window above him to the cloudy sky. The knob the whistle cord was tied to broke away, and the chime whistle died, the air going suddenly silent. His eyes darted to what was left of the gauges. The boiler pressure gauge still climbed. It had now gone past the red, and all the way back around to the zero. Dusty estimated it was somewhere around six-hundred now. **

**Slowly, his eyes drifted back to the window. As if aided by some terrestrial presence, the clouds parted, allowing the golden sun to shine down upon the engine through the window, lighting the inside of the crushed cab a beautiful orange-yellow. **

**The zombies were pooling now, pressing up against the engine and climbing up and onto the dented steel. **

**Dusty pinched his eyes shut. He laughed, coughing up blood in the process. ve got nothin He thought for a moment. Slowly, a grin spread across his face. s rays that shone down upon the scene of destruction. **

**The city of Canterlot fell into silence.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sunny rolled over as a hoof prodded him in the side, snuggling further into the pillow. m good.**Come on, Sunny. Sandy made you insist on touching me?Sorry, Sunny.t sound very sorry, only a little bit hurt. s food.t complain, but it still would have been humorous to see Willow and Candy sharing a bedt have been the first time.

It was almost scary how normal it felt leaving the back bedroom to the smell of breakfast in the kitchen. Candy lay back on the couch, still looking half asleep. Cotton lay near the window, one shackle locked to her right hoof, the other locked to the radiator against the wall.

The apartment had a very cozy look to it in the morning. The purple curtains were parted slightly, letting a swathe of yellow sunlight glide across the shag carpet and halfway up the opposite wall.

Sunny had been pleasantly surprised by the coupleLufty was his namet know if he could be as hospitable as they were being to three escapes hiding from the army, while holding a scientist hostage.

**the green mare, Sandy, chimed. She gave a friendly nuzzle to Lufty, then levitated six plates from the walk-in kitchen counter. She trotted casually across the room to a small, rectangular table, setting the plates down, two on either side and one at each end. she said cheerfully. **

**Yesterdaywhich they had spent lying around an apartment with nothing to do, Sunny had shared a talk with Lufty. The brown stallion had been living with this mare for two and a half years now. In their own eyes, they were married. Not wanting to get tied up in any of the mess that came with marriage, they had both agreed to not go through the rounds. Were anything to ever go astray with them, the separation would be made as painless as possible. Put in that perspective, it seemed like a pretty good idea. **

**Candy cracked a little grin. t have to go and cook us breakfast. I mean, we **

**She shrugged. With a flick of her tail, she took a seat. **

**Sunny and Willow crossed the room to the table, taking places on opposite ends from each other. **

**Candy hopped the couch and trotted up to Cotton. she asked cheekily. **

**The pink mare snorted and glared at Candy. m hungry.**Stop being so ,You got shot clean through the leg. Don

**Cotton picked herself up again, wincing, favoring her right leg over the bandaged left. m sorry if Im not used to being shot in the leg and taken hostage.**Ire trying to make me feel probably is,After all, it was only her job to screw with ponies

**Cotton glared. t mean I enjoyed it.s attention. **

**Sunny looked down to his food, letting the warm-sweet scent reach his nostrils. The food looked rather nice: eggs scrambled and cooked in with tomato and red and green peppers, dashed with salt and pepper. he commented. **

**Sandy smiled. **

**A little bit tense, the four of them tucked into their food, muttering compliments as Sandy took them with a little, satisfied smile. **

**s not here,**Remember her whole beef with eggs?I remember you left her silhouette in the roof.I was just thinking,about what wet stay I can

**Sandy interrupted. **

**Sunny nodded. **

**s it like out there, like, really like?**Terrible,Zombies, everywhere. It** She paused. ve got to watch your back, for zombies, ponies, everything.**Food** Sunny added. ve got a big group, you **

**Sandy blinked. **

**Candy, Sunny, and Willow all voiced their agreement. **

**She almost looked dumbstruck. **

**Sunny couldn**Theys gone. I don

**Willow**Is it you ponies who are so misinformed, or is it everypony?Is everypony, or we would have known about ** Sandy added. **

**He shot her a quick look. t right. The citys sake wes up, a lot of us just dont tell, and nopony asks. The ponies who live here were content with their quiet, boring lives. I think most of them just want that back.**It will never go back. Equestria will never be the same, not after this...After yout even look at a pony without sizing them up as something that I would have to kill, like it

**Candy nodded slowly in agreement. ve shot enough of them, zombie or not.s face to be replaced with a disgusted half-lear. s-that **

**Willow went back to her food. **

**Lufty had a distant expression on his face, staring slack-jawed at Willow. Willow seemed to notice him and blinked, eyes darting left, then right. she asked slowly. **

**He closed his jaw. **

**Willow blinked a few times. **

**He shook his head. **

**Willow sighed. s a really long and complicated story.**She** Cotton spoke up. **

**Sandy squinted. **

**s the only name I could think of. Shes bonded with the virus through a series of illegal antibiotic injections, but doesn **

**Sandy and Lufty exchanged worried glances. **

**t contagious in any way, faces. **

**Willow laughed. She fanned her hooves out. **

**Sunny intervened. **

**Candy added, glancing in Cotton**I did what I had to!You cut a pegasus** she countered. t care if they told you to test, thats sister!?**What about her!?You turned her into a zombie, and she ate her own brother!I... We had to

**re a sick, demented mare, and I wish Sunny hadn **

**Sandy murmured. **

**Sunny whispered. s **

**Candy interjected. **

**Cotton lifted her head to look at Candy, eyes puffy and red. m proud of any of that?**Do you think I enjoy testing on ponies, hurting them... killing them? I did it because I had to, because I was told to make on, hurt me, beat me until I can** She jumped back from the table and shoved Candy with a forehoof. **

**Sunny stood up, unsure of how to proceed. **

**Candy Glared at Cotton, her expression unreadable. The pink mare took a swing, and thats snout. Cotton cried out and stumbled backwards, blood trailing from her nose. Candy launched herself forward and drove her hoof into the mares brow. Cotton cried out and charged forward, but Candy jumped and noosed her foreleg around the pink mare**Moor blood on the carpet,Sorry about the carpet,Candy... look at her. She hates she should,Just look at what she

**Sunny let out a shaky breath. ve come to despise?**Open up!Who is it?Army personnel to perform an inspection of the premise. You have five seconds to open the door or it will be opened for do I do?Get the door,Come you try anything,s ear,

**Sandy ushered them all into the back room, constantly looking back down the hall. she said urgently, closing the door on them. **

**Sunny muttered a curse under his breath, looking around the room. He thought of his battle saddle on the floor of the closet, but immediately discarded that thought. **

**Candy locked Cotton**Let

**Sunny ran to the closet and pulled the folding shutter doors open while Candy and Cotton struggled to cram underneath the bed; it would have been comical in any other situation. There was nothing in the closet except for his battle saddle and Willow**They** Willow fretted. She tapped her hoof on the floor for a few seconds. She levitated the battle saddle and her bags threw them against the wall, then took the blankets and tossed them haphazardly over them so as they looked like nothing more than clutter in a closet. She pointed towards the shelf that ran across the top of the closet. **

**He moved forward without hesitation, jumping up and hooking his hooves on the shelf, beating his wings to help him pull himself up and swing his hind legs around. **

**Willow looked up at him, then reared up on her hind legs and stuck out a hoof. **

**Sunny blinked, then looked at the cramped space on the shelf. **

**Sunny grasped her hoof and pulled her up onto the shelf, cringing. He felt the familiar shivers and the tingle under his flesh as the mare settled against him. He lay on his belly, hind legs curled below him with his rump braced against the wall and forelegs folded. Willow lay back, her back pressed against his shoulder, mane falling over his coat. **

**he muttered. **

**Willow shushed him. **

**Sunny fell quiet, hearing only his and Willow**What seems to be the problem?We received an anonymous tip that there may be enemies to the REA on the premise,Okay... that** Sunny could almost imagine her shrugging. s just us.**Thank you for your it easy, Sunny,t examine them closely. His eyes started to travel up, and Sunny tensed.

Clear!Clear!Clear!s voice.

**Sunny growled quietly. **

**t,**Just hang in ,It must have been another hoax. Sorry for the misunder... standing...Is that blood?Yes,Our uh, cat got in a fight with another cat outside and it bled on the ** the mare questioned. **

**Lufty answered. **

**re lucky it did,**Animals have been outlawed since the food , this blood** the voice of the blue colt said. **

**There was a moment of silence. the mare said dangerously, **

**Nopony spoke. **

**the mare called. **

**Sunny stared curiously at Willow as her horn glowed red. **

**She made a shushing sound and levitated a pistol from her bag, flicking the safety off. **

**Sunny tensed. The closet doors opened again; the blue colt was back. He looked around the closet again, pulling the blankets away to reveal the battle saddle. His eyes widened a little bit, and he looked up, right into the barrel of Willow**If you try and call out, I will kill you,it still gave him the shivers, if pressing up against her hadns eyes stretched wide as he stared into Willowt in any position to aim and fire.

t,I donll kill ** the sergeant yelled from the living room. **

**Willow jumped from atop the shelf and thudded to the floor, Sunny right behind her, thankful for the break in contact. In only a few seconds, she had his battle saddle out of the pile and onto his back, yanking the buckle straps tight. She finished with him and slung on her own barding. **

**The guest bed flew up into the air, toppling upside down as Candy surged upwards. Quickly, she grabbed her stuff, practically dragging Cotton around behind her. **

**the other stallion yelled. There was the sound of a scuffle and the cries of Lufty and Sandy. **

**sunny muttered. This was their fault. **

**Candy yelled suddenly. She had braced herself against a standing wardrobe by the door, trying to push it over to block the entryway. Sunny moved up beside her, and together, they shoved the heavy wardrobe off balance. It hit the wall by the door and stuck cockeyed, breaking off the door handle and effectively blocking the entrance. **

**he panted. **

**The door shook for a moment as a pony on the other side tried to push through. the mare yelled. **

**t do it!**TheyShut her up!We can** Candy protested. re five stories up in the air.**That

**Cotton balked at Willow. **

**The whole front wall of the bedroom exploded inward in a shower of plaster dust and five ponies stormed into the room. The leader was a pink mare, a little taller than normal. She was flanked by two ponies sporting assault carbines, and on the outside were two ponies in hotsuits, primed flamethrowers on their backs. **

**Willow muttered. She pulled Cotton over beside her and held her pistol to the frightened mare**Don

**The pink mare examined the scene, her eyes observant, dangerous. Her short, yellow mane hung just above her eyes and tickled the back of her neck. t want to have to kill you all, because I like to give ponies a chance, but I won't hesitate if I have to.**If you send us back to that place it** Willow spat. **

**The mare shook her head. s not my problem. I have orders The two ponies on either side of her clicked their weapons. **

**Willow shoved the barrel of the pistol against Cotton**I will blast her brains out if you try bluff. Youre smart; I can see it in your eyes. Youd be dead, and you have too much of a heart to kill her in cold blood.S-say that to him!It was him or you** She paused. **

**Cotton paled. **

**The sergeant shrugged. s lie would go unnoticed. It was only a matter of time before somepony tried to access the datafiles and realized that there was no encryption, not even a password.**You

**Willow wrapped a hoof around Sunnys weight atop him and he clenched his teeth. **

**It took him a moment to realize that they were in the middle of the street. Willow rolled off him and hopped around, cursing as she swished out the fire on her tail. **

**Sunny rolled off the demolished mattress with a groan. **

**Candy stood up, dragging Cotton with her. **Run!Stop,I... I can

**Worry clouding his mind, Sunny turned back and approached her. She was worse off than he had thought. Her hind legs were badly burnt; they only looked red now, but Sunny knew that in a few hours the flesh would start to peel like hamburger. She bled heavily from a gash on her rump where a bullet had skimmed her, and a quarter of her tail was burnt off. **

**Frantically, he reached into her bag and dug for a healing potion. There was a sharp pain in his hoof and he drew it back, blood welling from a cut. He reached in again and pulled out a hoof full of broken glass, purple droplets of liquid clinging to the surface. **

**Willow asked, falling back on her haunches. **

**Sunny dug frantically through the bag on her back, then let out a sigh of relief. He passed her one of the bottles containing the purple liquid. **

**Willow winced as she uncorked the bottle. **

**t they all in the case I gave you?**They were,But I must have left it open after getting that potion for you going to be alright?Yeah, but lett have to use any more. You had to pay out the flank to get healing potions because they never were very common. The only reason we had them before was because I raided the hospital** She flopped over on her side. **

**Candy grinned. **

**Cotten sat perfectly still, staring at her hooves. t matter at all to them... All of my life working for the army, and they were willing to throw me away, just like that.**Welcome to the army, what do we do?Our hostage is useless. The most we could use her for now is a ** she pleaded, hugging Sunny**We will not be killing her,Any ideas?He raised a brow.

**Candy blinked, then reached back and dug in her saddlebags, producing the key for the shackles. **

**Cotton asked skeptically as Candy undid the shackle around her own hoof. **

**Candy slammed the key down in front of the pink mare. **

**Cotton stammered. **

**Willow propped herself up to look at the slightly-confused mare. **

**Cotton looked around to the three of them with disbelieving eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. She turned away, looking back at them, then bolted, the shackle still bound to one hoof jangling behind her as she disappeared down the alley. **

**Willow shrugged and leaned heavily on the dumpster. She chuckled. Her eyes drifted between Sunny and Candy **

**Sunny slumped. **

**Willow spoke up. d rather brave zombies and hunger than this mess and other ponies like the ones who...**Yeah, sure,How exactly do you plan on doing that? Lethey, wet mind, to be an optimist,Itt it,This is the only place in Equestria, that we know of, that

**Sunny**Hey, Willow?Yeah?When you throw a fish back, are they supposed to swim back to you?Help!What the hay is her problem?It** Cotton squealed, tearing past them and throwing herself in a standing dumpster. She ducked down amongst the garbage and slammed the lid behind her with a hollow . **

**Willow pounded on the side of the dumpster. s after you!?s eyes. It would take something a bit more traumatic than a hallucination to scare a mare to that degree. **

**He spotted it, whatever it was. It was about the same size as a pony, but was a rather disgusting thing. It was black, unlike any pony he had ever seen, and its eyes were orb-like and blue. Itt fast enough. The creature struck Sunny like a bag of cement mix and knocked him up against the wall of a building. He cringed as it lunged for his neck, fangs menacingly sharp. **

**Willow caught it from behind, freezing the snapping jaws and razor-sharp fangs mere inches from the cowering pegasuss throat, barely even caring that Willow or Candy existed at all. **

**Sunny couldns orby eyes hadn**Now, Sunny!s black hide. It screeched and flopped to the ground in a twitching mass, bleeding a greenish-blue substance onto the ground from gaping wounds. Its legs flailed violently as it tried to get up. For good measure, Sunny aimed a buckshot round at the angry creatures off-color blood onto the dirty asphalt.

Willow took a deep breath and gave a little chuckle. She trotted briskly over to prod the body, checking to see if it was still alive despite the fact that half of its head was splattered across the wall. s weird,Don

**s hemolymph...**This is insect , what? Thing

**s certainly not a pony!**I-it

**All three of them turned to the pink mare. Candy gave a cocked brow while Willow bobbed her head impatiently, silently willing the mare to continue. **

**Cotton scrambled out of the dumpster and dropped clumsily to the ground. she repeated, trotting up to meet them whilst shaking off the last of her fright with a few quick flicks of her ears. re an insect-like species of... something.**I was never in charge of that department. They posses the ability to take on the desired shape of any other living creature of their size...This right here shows that they can be , and this shows that they have a strong case of the munchies and they

**Willow harrumphed. re more likely to die.**Maybe it was the only one,Changelings are known to travel in swarms of...of about one to three hundred.s eye twitched and she took up a tense stance.

**Cotton chewed her lip. s see, um... they like dark spaces, someplace with a ceiling; they make, like, cocoon things, kind of like a butterfly.**I thought you were a scientist,Scientist,not an !What about them?The subways were shut down completely once Baltimare went off the grids suck

**Sunny panicked. **

**He slumped. **

**Cotton started forward. **

**Candy grabbed her by the mane and yanked her back. s just walk up to a platoon of guardsponies and tell them that therell totally believe a bunch of ponies that just broke out of a physical and mental testing facility.**Besides, we don

**Sunny dropped to his belly and rubbed his temples with his forehooves. s right, and they do travel in swarms, and if they are under the city... if one got out...**Then so did the others.s jaw trembled slightly.

**Moon stared silently out the cab window as the landscape flew by on either side of her. Canterlot was a mere speck in the distance now. **

**Rain poured in torrents, and the wind howled at them from the side, whipping sheets of water across the glass as the wipers tried hopelessly to skim it away. Although it was morning, the sky was dark-gray, golden sun hidden behind layers of black clouds and filtered even further by the rain, setting the feeling that it was really no more than a half-moon night. **

**The hum of the engine sent a small vibration through her body, translating through her hooves from the paneled floor. it just wasns warmth. This engine showed none of that; it scooted along like a jackrabbit with a steady hum from the gemerator room. The streamlined glass cab felt claustrophobic compared to the open cab of the Big Buck, and the combined breath of the ponies inside the cold cab fogged the insides of the windows. **

**The engine had been quite an object at first sight. It consisted of two cars, both spanning about forty feet in length. The first car of the engine was the cab unit itself, painted dark-red with a glossy paint and streamlined with a domed roof and hood. A silver stripe ran right down the middle of the engine and painted the steel all around the curved front windows of the cab. The same color of silver ran along the bottom on both sides, just above the wheels. **

**The car pulled behind the engine had the same color scheme: a line of silver across the roof and a thinner line along the bottom on either side. This car, as told by Snowglobe, served as a second unit and a baggage car. Since they were pulling nothing but the enginenot exactly a zombie-free trekWhat kind of a place is this?where I thank the goddess that the dead weren **

**Their number was now nine, and a foal. It was her, Snowglobe, Brick, Copper, Altic, Yew, Range, Jade, Sage, the pink mare and her foal, and a sky blue stallion named Carter. **

**A single tear ran down her cheek, sheering off at the bottom of her jaw and falling silently to the floor below. All the Appleoosans, all but three... they were all dead. How had she failed so catastrophically? It would kill her soul to lose anypony else. Now, everypony on board, she knew personally. The only reason she had been able to semi-bear the deaths of the so many others was that she did not know them, apart from faces that she would never see again. **

**There was Jade, the pegasus whom she had saved. Sage, the mare kind enough to let them into their stronghold, and the one to pass on leadership to Moon. Copper, formal REA turned firestallion by Dusty. Yew, Dusty he was the only one still awake apart from Moon. **

**The rest were back in the second unit. **

**Nothing felt right without Dusty. He had left them with only a single relic, which was currently strapped to Snowglobet fair, wasnt just be gone, not after all the things theya selfish, but easy way out of the whole mess. Then it would be their problem, not hers. **

**But that was no way to go. That wasn not as the mare who couldnlife isn for her entire life really, and up until this point, she had never fully understood it until now... until yesterday. She had used to complain when the store didns idea of a sick toilet paper prank, only it spanned over two blocks. At the very epicenter, had been the Big Buck, or at least what was left. The only thing remaining had been the side of the boiler that had been blasted into the ground and the front set of wheels and pistons about fifty feet away. A wheel there, a piece of a connecting rod there... all destroyed. **

**Snowglobe murmured in her sleep. She exploded out of her seat in a whirlwind of hooves. she screamed, flopping over to the floor. **

**Copper moved forward and gave her a shake. **

**The others in the cab stirred, but didns eyes cracked open in the gloom and she shakily picked herself up off the floor. **

**Copper offered her a hoof. **Leave me alone,s eye. m just gonna go,s cheeks as tears leaked from her eyes. The mareSnowglobe... are you okay?s withers.

The mare picked her head up and turned herself around to face Moon. She nodded, but her face said no. **she whispered. **

**Moon sighed. s all we can shoot for.**We don

**Moon was silent for a moment. **

**Her breath heaved. s us? how long before something happens, and... and...s neck. **

**Moon patted Snowglobe on the back as the mare**I know.s mane. **She drew in the mare**Should somepony be driving the train, or at least watching the tracks?S-s-sorry. I need to stay in my you want me to take over? I just have to keep an eye on the tracks, and I can wake you up if there

**Snowglobe shook her head, a yawn forming on her face. No, Im good.**Snow, you havenyou

**Snowglobe flopped back down in the elevated airseat and shifted her puffy eyes to the controls, their blue glow reflecting in her green eyes. m fine.s neck. Snowglobe laxed almost immediately, falling into the embrace and slumping against Moon. she muttered, eyes fluttering. t sleep.s purple mane. **

**Snowglobe slipped from the seat and trickled to the floor, embracing Moon**Maybe just for a bit,s back and pulled her in close. In seconds, the mare had dozed off. Moon turned her attention out the window, keeping watch ahead. t lose anypony else,I won't let it do you see?Gimme a minute.s protests and obvious repulse. Apparently, the changeling spook had really unsettled the pink mare, and she insisted on staying with them due to the fact that theyt see the point. The truth was that Cotton didnit seemed plausible.

Willow hissed under her breath, glaring through the glasses. t see any way around me see.t have lack of fortification. Ponies in gray uniform trotted busily back and forth across the walkway of the concrete and steel barrier wall. At regular intervals, large, menacing-looking stationary guns were mounted on wheel pivots; he took these to be the anti-air precautions due to the fact that the barrels were turned towards the sky.

The army had been smart. When they had contained Baltimare, they had not tried to enforce the entire city. They had mostly enclosed the downtown district, running their barriers around geographical strong points and encircling some smaller rural areas. The outskirts of the city had been left unprotected, allowing the zombies to claim all not inside the wall.

Candy snatched the binoculars from him. She held them up to her eyes and frowned down at the barrier. After a moment, she cursed and tossed them back to Willow. s just as I ?They** She sighed. s not like we **

**Sunny frowned at her. **

**Candy blinked. s practically written in the lingo book now.**Skywagon?I have some pegasus friends that might

**Candy interrupted sourly. d never make it past the anti-air.**Then how the hay do we get past

**Sunny shuffled his hooves nervously, a rather insane idea striking him. **

**All heads turned to him. Willow insisted. **

**He hesitated. t get out by sneaking past, and we can He gave them a nervous grin. **

**Cotton** do you mean possibly?Well

**Candy pressed, placing her forehooves on either side of Willow**Dark and

**Willow bared her teeth and head-butted the mare in the face. Candy reared back from the unexpected impact and fell to her rump, shellshocked. **

**Sunny panicked, ready to move forward to call Willow off; she had that look about her again. But before he needed to step in, that look died. **

**Willow stepped back, ears folded in shame. m sorry,**You touched me and I didn I

**The stunned mare picked herself up, a red mark prominent across her brow and muzzle. **

**Willow repeated. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. m sorry, but you can **

**Candy nodded absently. **

**The sorry look in Willow**It** she said dangerously, causing Sunny to take an unconscious step away from the pair. **

**Candy sobered up pretty fast. She staggered a little on her hooves, wincing and rubbing her head. re insane if you suggest we actually take the subways. Remember the changeling?**I really don** Candy pouted. **

**Cotton chirped timidly. **

**Candy flicked her ears. s forcing you to stay with us.**Maybe we could

**a mare screamed from behind them. **

**Willow clenched her teeth and her eyes burned with fire. **

**the pony screamed louder. **

**Slowly, Sunny turned with the others to face the mare. She was REA, earth pony, her orange coat shining in the sun from below her gray uniform, silver mane held out of her eyes with a tie. She was scared**Hey now** Sunny made the mistake of taking a step towards her. **

**She clamped down on the firing bit and the hair in Sunny**Don** she screeched, voice crackling. **

**Sunny froze to the spot, afraid to blink. Nothing was more dangerous, or terrifying, than a scared mare with two big guns. **

**Willow fumed silently as she glared daggers at the orange mare. **

**The REA pony turned her rifles on Willow with a quick jerk. She motioned towards the automatic on Willow**Any plans?Plans?Stop talking!Yes,Should would actually lay down our weapons or should we just shoot this snoopy sack in the face!?Drop them!It

**Irritation flashed in her eyes, and the rifles drifted back to Willow. **

**Willow grumbled something rather profane and magically yanked Sunny**This is Private Shores requesting a retrieval squad to the roof of the Pleasntstay to dispatch,s voice responded.

**Shores never took her eyes off the four of them as she spoke. re not gonna believe this, but I have apprehended and captured the two escaped mental patients from Bottle of Progress, along with the mutiny subject, Private Cane and the awol scientist.**Private Shores, a team has been dispatched to your location. Keep the subjects in captivity until they arrive.s blood had begun to boil at the way they had been titled. Mental patients? Awol scientist? Mutiny? There was some pony sitting somewhere behind a desk, thinking up relative words to make them sound bad.

**Willow said with the hint of a smile. **

**The private glared. t speak.t heard. s your first name?**None of your business,Come on, I don

**Willow grinned. **

**The private growled and rolled her eyes. s Silver, okay! Silver Shores.**Oh, I see coat and silver mane. Silver Shores, , now will you please shut up?s attention. ll be before they dispose of you?s eyes drifted slowly to the striped-maned mare. s name are you talking about?I mean, how long do you think itre going to throw you away like they did me?You killed your squad!I did no such thing.I was betrayed when I brought back volunteers to help with a cure** Her hoof waved towards Sunny and Willow. **

**Silver shook her head. re trying to do. I **

**Cotton added desperately. **

**Willow said menacingly. **

**Sunny chipped in, seeing what the mares were trying to do. ve killed or tried to kill everypony that This, of course, wasn**When they come to collect us, they

**Silver seemed to be growing rather nervous. t.**It doesnll be a liability. If you say no, theyd kill you if you said yes, so even if we never told you anything, they** She shrugged. re dead. Or they **

**SIlver rubbed her forehead in distress. **

**Willow put her menacing look on, somehow coaxing a flash of yellow glow from her eyes. t want to know.s eyes widened comically as she balked at Willow. **Iyou!I

**Sunny had to force himself not to grin. This method seemed to be working. Although none of them had discussed it, they had all seemed to silently agree. He couldnpoor mare, she was terrified. **

**Silver took a long moment to breathe. **

**Sunny gave his best impartial look. **

**Silver didn**Great work, Private Shores,You got

**Shores nodded back, smiling a little, her body language stiff. **

**The mare flicked her tail. She leered at Willow. **

**Willow snapped at the mare, and immediately, every gun turned on her, metallic clicks filling the air. Willow was unphased. **

**The sergeant shrugged, grinning out the corner of her mouth. **

**Willow spat at the mare's hooves. re lucky I **

**Sunny murmured. **

**Nopony spoke as the six REA ponies, and Silver Shores, escorted them across the roof and down the first flight of stairs to the top floor, where they then entered an elevator. **

**Sunny kept a close eye on Willow as they slowly descended, worried she would try something. He held his breath as Willow smirked mischievously. Swift like a cat, she lunged forward and smacked the forward wall with her forehooves, sliding them down the button panel and lighting up every button along the way. **

**The sergeant kicked her in the stomach and the mischievous mare collapsed to the floor, cackling in between gasps for breath. **

**On floor seventeen, the doors slid open with a ding from the bell. An old mare with a walker balked at them from the hallway, eyes drifting from the mare on the floor to the seven ponies pointing guns at her. **

**The bell dinged again and the doors slid closed. They dropped to level sixteen and the doors opened again, the light in the sixteen button on the control panel blinking out. **

**s enough,s ears or making strange noises. Around floor ten, the sergeant had begun to ignore Willow. **

**The white mare looked over at Sunny and cracked a wide grin, tossing her muzzle towards the sergeant. Sunny shook his head. s not worth it,**Have you ever been shot before?Yes. It kinda feels like getting ploughed for the first time by an overeager stallion; theret hurt so bad if you don

**The sergeant blinked, struck off by Willow**I doubt youcause the holes you do have must be tighter than a vice with the way you strut was clever, and Itill your coat matches your mane, I

**The bell dinged and the elevator doors slid smoothly open to the lobby. Several ponies had gathered around and were waiting for them at the bottom. It was amazing how fast news spread; one of them must have seen the ponies going up and, and with nothing better to do, gathered some friends and waited patiently at the bottom. **

**Willow glared and bared her teeth at a punk-looking stallion as they passed, causing him to back into his friend, who shoved him to the ground and snickered. Friends... At least Sunny hoped those ponies werens wagon. **

**Sunny looked at the sergeant with as level of a stare as he could as his friends piled into the wagon. **

**She shrugged. m not taking you anywhere.**But they

**Sunny folded his ears. He lifted himself into the back of the steel-shelled wagon next, not intent on being shoved or thrown. **

**The sergeant turned to Silver, who had been trying to casually drift back into the crowd. She asked it as a question, but it was clear that it was an order. **

**Silver gulped and nodded. She trotted forward, jaw trembling a little, and climbed up into the back of the wagon with Sunny and the others. **

**One of the guards slammed the door shut after her, the old steel hinges squeaking in protest, and fitted a key into the embedded lock. He and another stallion then moved around to the front of the wagon, out of sight behind a wooden wall lined with a thin layer of steel, and slipped into the harnesses. **

**Silver let out a little whimper sitting across from Sunny closest to the back gate as they began to pull away. she whispered. t be happening.t even seem to care about watching them, the guns on her back forgotten. **

**Sunny said quietly, trying to draw her attention. Silver didn**Hey!What?They aren** he said. **

**She blinked a few times. **

**Sunny said reassuringly. **

**agreed Willow. **

**The fear vanished from Silver**You evil ponies!Why... why are you telling me this?Well, seeing as wes no real point in ruining your you break out of Bottle of Progress with those kind of tactics?No,The one that looks like a candy cane dressed up as my partner

**Candy chirped. **

**and snuck them out. Then the orange one shot me in the leg and they took me hostage to escape the building.**Hes probably dead.I... I know that must be 

**Willow rolled her eyes. s no point.**They have guns and a clear sight of us.I

**Willow snorted. t a threat.**Excuse me?The way youd be dead by 

**re bad ponies?**I don** She paused. **

**Willow changed the topic before it could get nasty. Sunny thanked her with a look. **

**she answered, sitting up a little straighter. **

**Willow shook her head. **

**Silver slumped. **

**She leaned in a little closer. s changelings under the city.**This is another killed one in an alley,We think it came from the subways, and changelings always travel in swarms.t believe a word of what they were saying, then changed topics. **she said to Cotton, **

**Cotton shrugged. re better than the army, that **

**The conversation stopped there, and for the next twenty minutes the five of them rode in silence as they were pulled along through the city, civilians staring. It wasn't until they were in the heat of the downtown district that a disturbance began. **

**It started off simple enough: shouts and echoes reached them from ahead on the street. He could hear gunshots further off, but those were probably the air-to-ground rifles. Pressing his head against the barred window to get a better look ahead of them, Sunny spotted two mares battling in the street. And by battling, he meant battling. They rolled and screeched and pulled at each other**She** she bellowed, mane falling into her face. **

**Sunny looked to the other mare who was still fighting the official. She yanked and twisted and growled, trying anything to pull free. she hissed, hooves scrabbling at the ground. She glared at the mare cowering behind the orange REA member, her bloodshot eyes dilating. re dead!**Shoot her!She

**The two stallions both turned to Sunny, faces reflecting shock. Instructed the orange one. He took a step closer as the green stallion wrapped his hooves tight around the mare**Sweet Celestia!He

**The mare lunged at him in the green stallion**I

**s strong! **

**Orange fired his pistol, emptying the clip at the mare. Four bullets tore through her opposite side, the rest missed. **

**The rabid mare staggered, breath gurgling in her throat as her lungs heaved like an angry bull**It** Silver whispered, eyes stretched wide. s in the city.**Please,I need to get to a hos** The green stallion took fast aim, and before she even knew what was happening, she was dead, sliding to the ground with a hole in her forehead. **

**Sunny cringed. He would never get used to that. **

**Green holstered his pistol, then turned to Orange. s loose!t like the crowd that was gathering around; they were giving him flashbacks of Desert Sage. **

**Orange looked to the short-wave radio strapped to his foreleg. t even on.**We** a mare screamed, her voice crackling over the low-quality connection. **

**a stallion screamed over gunfire. s name are these things!?**Switch to dispatch!s echo down the streets from deeper into the city. **a mare cried. There was an explosion. Heavy panting. **Pony down!Be advised we can not send you support at this time. All forces are currently dealing with the current are going to die!It** Cotton squeaked. **

**An old air-raid siren blared to life far in the distance, it**Come on!We have to go!s eyes turned forward as four REA ponies ran into the street from an alley, shooting backwards as they ran. Six changelings came after them, darting around like cockroaches and making near-impossible targets.

The crowd scattered, ponies screaming. Sunny would never understand it. Why did ponies always have to scream in crowds? It just made everything much more confusing and caused useless commotion. But, ponies always did get stupid in numbers. His thoughts were interrupted as the wagon jerked forward and threw him to the floor.

Willow offered a helping hoof, which he ignored. **she asked meekly. **

**Candy fumed in her corner of the wagon as they thundered down the road. re dead. It **

**Willow smacked the mare with a hoof. **

**Sunny got back to his hooves, only to crash to the deck again as the two pullers dodged a group of ponies in the road. **

**Willow said matter-of-factly. **

**The wagon wheels thundered as the two stallions pulling hauled them at full speed down the street, panting in effort. Ponies whipped by, running and screaming, some just looking confused. **

**Sunny lumbered to the front of the wagon and climbed up to look through the narrow bars to the two pullers. **

**Orange huffed. **

**s further into the city!**If you take us there, we all die!Orders!Screw orders!I

**Ponies dodged aside like self-conscious bowling pins as the jailwagon rocketed by. The horde pursued them at running speed, mowing down ponies in their chase for the wagon. Civilians ran alongside the wagon as they fled the wave of death. Some stayed back, sporting household-found weapons or the occasional pistol; they didn**Go right!The street ahead

**the green stallion yelled. They were coming up on a T junction. The street that continued on ahead looked clear and zombie free. The right branch, however was a mess of fighting. REA and civilians fought up-close and personal with small groups of changelings and normal infected. **

**ll be trapped!**Shit!s attack missed and it fell under the wagon wheels. The whole wagon bucked into the air as the steel-rimmed wheels crushed the fragile-looking zombie.

They were coming up on a four way intersection now, a subway station set diagonally between two streets just off the corner.

t happening,This cant all go down like this in ten minutes. How

**You saw the way they popped out of the ground,**Somehow they found their way into the city through the underground.s orb-like eye. The bolt worked and the hollow point round ripped out the back of its skull. The ejector spit out the smoking shell and the slide locked open. In slow motion, the changeling fell backwards and tumbled amongst the other bodies on the road.

Willow smirked a little and levitated a clip from the mareWhat are you** She looked to her rifle and flushed. **

**At the front of the wagon, the orange stallion cried out as a changeling tackled him from the side. He went down in the harness and the wagon rolled over him. It happened so fast that not one of them had time to brace themselves. The harness wrapped in the wagon**Son of a...Come on!Let** Willow followed right behind him, dragging Candy by the scruff. Sunny danced on his hooves, tossing constant glances behind them. They had left most of the battle on the street behind, but it was being pushed towards them. The REA ponies had formed a line, and were now making a strategic retreat, covering one another as they fled towards the intersection. He picked out one blue mare in particular. Her single assault rifle clicked on empty and she broke from the line, sprinting towards them. **

**Silver rolled herself out of the wagon and flopped over on the ground. She had busted her right side rifle in the crash, the barrel smashed and sticking out of the mechanism at the back end. **

**Willow yelled to Silver. **

**The mare picked herself, looking skeptically at Willow. **Now! ** a stallion yelled into the receiver of the radio box fitted on his back. re going to have to re-station or they **

**Willow supporting Cotton, they retreated, trying frantically to keep ahead of the line. The ragtag force of armed civilians and REA members fell back to the back of the wagon. the stallion yelled into the radio. He looked up in time to spot a changeling who had broken their ranks. Ignoring everypony but the stallion with the radio, it took him down. **

**Sunny shook his head slowly. His mind was having trouble coping. So many ponies, dead, dying. Oblivious and worried mares and stallions looked down from windows of buildings high above. **

**the dispatch stallion said from the radio of the dead stallion**ETA five minutes.s body. t hold out that long!s pistol, she ran forward to the wagon and pulled herself atop it. **she yelled to the others, wielding the pistol. **

**Silver broke loose and ran to the line, falling in between two civilians who shot her grateful looks. The street ahead was a mess. Ponies ran to and fro, some heading for the line held by the REA. Sunny gasped as a mare in the line shot down a mare and a stallion trying to pass by. **

**Candy saw his look, and answered his unasked question. She tossed him one last look then dashed ahead, fitting the fallen stalliont been going for the radio, but the weapon. **

**Sunny looked around. It was the green stallion, lying half under the body of his dead colleague and tangled in the harness. Sunny looked around for help, but he was the only one left by the wagon, the others had moved up to help. With great repulse, he shoved the orange stallion over. Thinking twice, he unstrapped the dead pony**I** yelled a purple mare. **

**A stallion levitated a rifle clip over to her, never taking his eyes of the street. **

**Willow fired the pistol like a madmare, swinging this way and that, covering all angles. The slide locked back and she hurled the useless weapon at ping zombie. **

**a stallion yelled over the radio on Candy**Fall back two blocks and reform!No!Our forces are not sufficient to cover that area!Sir!Were past! Repeat, theys eyes widened. s the next street over!I** Sunny whispered, sliding the rifle out of its fitting and, with a little strain, reaching back to fasten it in the right slot of his. He grabbed the only clip remaining on her belt and backed away, her eyes tracked him, chest heaving, but she didn**There** Sunny whispered to himself. s too far gone.**Sergeant!?Dead!Well then who

**Nopony answered. **

**The radio cackled again. re falling back!**Fletlock!?We

**Sunny felt rather sluggish. The gunfire had gotten to his head. The place was a complete warzone. The air couldn**To the subway!Willow!Please let me in!Please!N-no. You

**She screamed in rage and pounded her hooves on the gates as more ponies filled in around her. ll kill you, you bastard!**Willow!Hurry!H-how did you do that?Later.t until they reached a bend in the tunnel did the yells and screams fade into the distance, and they chanced it to stop. Sunny looked around at all of them in the white glow of an emergency light. Willow, Candy, Silver, Cotton, they were all here. Along with them were seven ponies in uniform and three without.

**a mare hollered over a staticky radio channel from the box on Candy**Setting evacuation points and sanctioning parts of the city!s voice: it was the pink sergeant.

**the green stallion grumbled. **

**Candy reached back and flipped a switch on the radio, then put on a pair of bulky headphones tied to the device with a wire, only putting them over one ear. ll keep an ear open.**Who** Her long, brown mane was muffed and untidy after the whole ordeal and a long cut ran up her cheek. **

**Cotton and Candy moved up beside Sunny and Willow. Candy said warningly. re you?**Corporal ** she spat. **

**Sunny intervened. t matter! None of it matters!**Unless we work together, we

**Sunbathe swallowed, then turned to the others. s right. We **

**Candy looked up from the radio. re evacuating the city and retreating to the south wall.**Away from us...Ammo check, everypony!Nine, and twenty or so for the , . mags for the automatic,Thirteen on the a 

**Three hooves went into the air. **

**Willow tapped Sunbathe on the shoulder. **

**Sunbathe turned back to Willow with a glare. s eyes, glowing ever slightly in the semi-dark. she whispered. **

**Willow tossed a sly grin to Cotton. **

**Sunny looked down the dark, tiled hallway that led to the subways. re out of the fire.**And right into the frying 

**Willow blushed and gave him a sad grin. **


	17. Chapter 17

"Hello?" she called into the darkness, timid voice reverberating back to her after a short moment. The mist swirled all around her, snaking between her hooves and through her mane, sending shivers up her legs and down her spine. It gave her the illusion that she was moving, slipping away to Celestia knows where. It was the sensation of speed. "Hello?" she repeated, turning herself in a slow, full circle, not sure of what direction she was facing, or even which way she was turning. It wasn't right. She felt no warmth, no cold, neither the ground below her hooves nor the breath in her own lungs, only a feeling of neutrality at its most concentrated as her eyes struggled for firm focus—the only sense she felt to have an actual hold on. From the mist behind her, something growled, vocals like the grate of stone on stone. She spun in fear, possessionless, weaponless. "W-who are you!?" Her voice was quiet, like she had screamed into a pillow clasped over her face. It growled again, driving her to stumble backwards. "What do you want!?" The menacing feeling died like curtains closed to the sun, and a lighter, more majestic power took its place. Off in the mist there came the faintest flicker of blue lights. "Who are you?" Moon whispered. Her eyes blinked open to grayness. Dull, filtered light shone through the small, round windows high up on the walls, casting little bubbles of light on the adjacent wall to the right, turning them a more golden shade of gray than the surroundings. Coming to greater awareness, she found herself laying on her side, the ground around her cold and cruel apart from the unicorn-shaped spot where her warm body rested. She was supposed to be watching for Snowglobe... In a flurry of limbs, she scrambled to her hooves, slipping on the smooth surface below her. "What's happening!?" Her mane fell into her eyes and she batted it away. "What'd I miss!?" "Nothing," Sage said smugly from the other corner of the quiet railcar. "Just relax a little bit." Moon slumped, doing as she was told, falling down to her haunches and letting her tensing muscles relax. "Where... why—" She tossed her eyes around the small interior of what appeared to be the luggage compartment. "I thought I was in the cab... why... why am I in the baggage car?" "Brick brought you back." She smirked a little and trotted up to Moon's side. "You were so asleep you could have been dead." Moon blinked a few times, conscious of the energetic buzz in the back of her skull and the slight jitter in her limbs. "Wow... I feel..." She rolled her shoulders, feeling the urge to do a little hop. "Awake." Sage grinned. "How long was it since you last slept?" "Purposefully?" Moon rolled her tongue against the inside of her cheek. "I think it was the night before we left Appleoosa. But, I think I did sleep a while after the griffons... when that roof fell on my head. I'm not sure if that counts though." She frowned and pushed to her hooves, doing a little hop from side to side. Her body felt... light. "Where's my bags?" she asked, realizing what caused the sensation of lightness. Sage tossed her head towards the back wall where the bags lay discarded. "You looked uncomfortable laying on your side with your spine curving like a banana around those things." Moon sat back. "I was so kiboshed that you undid all my barding straps and I didn't even notice?" Sage snorted. "I could have tongue kissed you and you wouldn't have noticed." Moon cocked a brow. "Did you?" Sage flushed rather noticeably and glared. "No." Moon rolled her eyes, faking a casual tone. "Right, sorry. I forgot you only kiss dark-blue pegasi." Sage intensified her glare and her cheeks went from turquoise to vermillion. "We haven't even kissed." "Where's the others?" Moon asked, deciding to change the topic instead of bringing up the idea of spooning. "Either in the cab or the next section of this car, behind us." She flicked her tail at the flimsy door of the six-by-eight room. "Range and that Altic mare locked themselves in the secondary generator room we're not using." Moon only rubbed her eyes. "How long have I been asleep?" A shrug. "About eight or nine hours—it's about five in the afternoon, evening, or whatever." Moon pushed herself up and stretched, stretching her hind and forelegs, bowing her back and pointing her nose towards the ceiling as she spread her stance and let out a moan of content. "How..." a yawn interrupted her as she lifted herself straight again, leading with her haunches. "How long 'till Baltimare?" Sage blinked a few times, drowsily. "Snowglobe says sometime around tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon." Unconsciously, Moon levitated her shotgun over to her from where it had been propped in the corner and absently began unloading the feed tube. "What do you think it'll be like?" Sage eyed the longbrass, blue shells as they levitated before Moon. "What it'll be like?" she inquired "Baltimare." She ejected the last shell and pulled the trigger, coaxing a click from the firing pin. "Hopefully not zombies." She bit her lip for a second. "Why, are you worried?" Moon sighed and slid a buckshot round past the loading ramp at the bottom of the weapon. "Sort of." She hesitated. "What do you think the chances of Sunny and Willow being there are?" "I'm sure they're there if what Dusty—" She winced at the way Moon's eyes darkened at the mention of the pegasus' name, "—s-said is true. But, finding them in that giant city..." Moon slid two more shells into the weapon. "It was a stupid idea, I knew it from the start—leaving to help the REA. We never should have separated." Sage's eyes tracked every buckshot as Moon slid them into the weapon, hypnotized almost. "They were your friends?" Moon nodded. "Close?" She only smiled at the turquoise mare. Realization dawned. "Oh... you and the orange one?" "How'd you guess?" Sage half-smiled. "You lost a little of the spring in your step when those two left, and I doubt it was for the crazy mare." Moon worked the action on the shotgun and shook her head, accidentally causing the turquoise mare to shy. "No. Willow's not crazy. She may seem a little odd, or intimidating, but that mare would move a mountain for you if you asked her to." She sniffed. "I'd do anything to see them both again." Sage clacked her teeth together. "I'd tell you that you'll definitely see them... but you're not desperate enough to believe me." She gave Moon an apologetic look. "But there's always a chance." Moon nodded slowly. "Thanks for being honest." Both heads turned to the backwards facing door as it squeaked open on a bad hinge. Yew, ears drooping and head low, plodded into the space, dragging the door shut behind her with her tail. The brown mare's eyes drifted to Moon, shallow with apathy. "Hey." Sage stood up rather hurriedly. "Well, I need to be checking on ponies..." She slinked to the door Yew had just entered through. "...erm, Jade specifically." Moon stared at Sage, baffled, as the turquoise mare made herself disappear, shooting Moon an apologetic look before she jerked the door closed with a little 'thunk'. Moon blinked a few times, a baffled expression tainting her features. "What's eating her?" she asked Yew with a forced half-smirk. Yew seemed to slump a little. "I've got a pretty good idea." Moon heaved a sigh and lowered herself to her belly, nodding for Yew to lay beside her. "Are you doing alright?" Yew moved up beside Moon and practically flopped down to the floor with a look of exhaustion, a long breath wisping from her nose as she seemed to deflate like a punctured liferaft, limbs going relaxed, eyelids drooping in such despondency that Moon felt to be the happiest pony to ever live. "...Are you okay?" she repeated, a little timid. Yew rolled clumsily to her belly and rested her chin on her crossed forehooves. "Yeah..." Moon cleared her throat quietly. "I'm really s-sorry about Dusty... he was my friend, too." Yew shook her head slowly side to side. "Don't give me your sympathy... I don't need it." She took a painfully long breath. "I really don't need it." Her lips moved again, uttering the same words, only this time in complete silence. Moon shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I'm here if you'd like to vent, or something." They both sat in silence, the only sounds the clickity-clack of the wheels on the rails and the hum of the generators in the car ahead. Moon swallowed in the semi-silence, the wet sound traveling up her neck and through her head until it reached her ears, louder than a stampede of buffalo. "I thought he was dead..." Yew said after what felt like hours. She exhaled. "I figured he was dead, and I never thought much of it. He was dead, just like all the others, my friends, my parents... everyone else. It hurt for a little, but then it went away, just sort of went numb... Everyone else was dead, and I just got used to it." Her eyes hardened. "But then he came back, and he wasn't dead anymore. He was alive, living, talking, breathing... and dying." Her tone remained flat. "It's like losing him all over again, only this time it hurts more, because I was there, and I couldn't do a single thing about it." Moon chewed anxiously on her tongue. "That..." "And Esekiel." "Esekwho?" Yew pinched her eyes shut. "I lost him too." Moon hesitated. "Your... special somepony?" She shook her head. "Lifelong friend?" Another shake. "Oh..." Moon said dejectedly. Yew lifted her head a few inches. "He was my only friend... That griffon saved my life, more than once... It was a sentimental thing, you know, survivor's bond." Griffon: that was something Moon wasn't too familiar of. From what she had heard, sometimes they weren't the most pleasant of creatures. She had talked to one once, back in Fillydelphia, a female—she had been particularly unpleasant, and at the occasion of a business brunch, had possessed the worst table manners. Now, Moon was no pony for dinner fancies, but this avian had drawn eyes of others, belching loudly and ripping into her food as if it were a birthday present. Griffons lived in different ways than ponies; they had their own ways and customs, which very well may have proved civilized to other griffons, but yielded mismannered and repulsive to ponies with the thought of civility to them. They weren't really brutes, just beings of lower standards, bound by word over money. Maybe that was a good thing... "I-I'm sorry, Yew... I don't know to say anything else." Yew's head had since rested back down in her forehooves. "Thanks for caring. Altic and Range... sure they hurt for him, but not like I do... Sure they knew him..." "...But not like you did." Moon felt the gravity of Yew's distress slap her across the face like a sodden towel. This was how she would look if anything ever happened to Sunny, any of them really, even Willow a little bit. Right now, the only thing keeping her going was the others. Had it just been her, she would have flopped to the floor and cried until it was all over. Only her determination to lose nothing more stopped the pain before it could wash over her like the high surf. She tried to swallow the knot rising in her throat. "Sunny..." * * * 'Sunny...' Willow eyed the orange pegasus from where he rested within the darkness, knowing very well that her glowing eyes would give her away were he to cast her a glance. What seemed odd to her was the fact that she cared whether or not he saw her eyeing him. There was a painful self-consciousness nibbling at her spinal cord, every action performed in hopes of winning only one pony's recognition, one pony's praise. His. A little smile played across her lips in the dark—she knew he wouldn't be able to see that. The twelve of them hadn't moved far from their point of entry to the subways. Corporal Sunbathe had led them down no farther than the station platform and stopped there, in the dark. Many of them had needed rest, literally in a state of exhaustion. Willow, being a little weary herself, hadn't complained. It had been four hours since they had been out of the light, some listening to the radio on Candy's back, most sleeping. Unable to sleep, Willow had listened. The army's attempts to quarantine and contain had failed, and they had now retreated to the south end of the city and had set up a choke point. From the transmissions reaching the abandoned group through the radio, it seemed that the army was losing two to three blocks an hour. The orange pegasus, who had been resting with his head on his laced forehooves, one wing draped over his eyes, looked up suddenly, ears perking. Inexplicably, his eyes darted right to her in the dark. "Willow?" She cursed under her breath, not bothering to look away and pretend that she had just been glazing. "Yeah?" "...How long have you been looking at me?" "Just for a moment." The lie stung her like a rusty needle stabbed into a nerve. Frighteningly, the resting bodies around her seemed to fade away, Sunny included as her pupils dilated. She had been told not to lie. -ooOoo- "What do you say?" The green filly stood with her face pressed against the glass of the grocer, the ponies bustling about on the walk and street behind them hardly even giving either of the fillies a first glance. The white filly beside the green shifted uncomfortably and sat back on her haunches. "I still don't think it's a good idea." The green filly's stomach growled angrily, and Willow winced. "A-are you sure, Dancer?" The green filly bobbed her head like it was on a spring. "Please, Willow, you have to help me out here. I haven't eaten in days!" Dancer came from a much poorer family than Willow's own. Her parents both worked as part of a labor union that specialized in the building of steel structures in central Phillydelphia, and often enough, their funds would run short at the three-quarter mark between the payment lines at the job offices. It hadn't helped that four months ago, her older brother had been gusted off the steel structure of a skyscraper in progress. Unable to afford a casket, they had burned what was left. Willow sighed. "But what if we get caught?" Dancer gave her a playful shove. "But we won't." She reached out and messed Willow's short, gray mane. "Hey, your red's showing again." Willow gave her mane a quick eye-over in the reflection of the grocer window. She was smaller than Dancer, a little smaller than most fillies her age, so Dancer, who was normal height, had been able to peer down at the roots of her mane. Dancer had been right—hidden amongst the gray strands of her mane was about a half-inch of brilliant crimson. She blushed a little and hung her head, reminded painfully of how her mane had used to look. After she had gotten her cutie mark, her control freak of a mother had decided that Willow's hair color looked too much like blood. Whether it be of punishment for the inevitable, or for some sort of cruel, self-justification, she had bleached her filly's mane and tail, but since she hated yellow almost more than she did crimson, the bleach had been left until Willow's mane had gone white. After a week of Willow's complaining that she looked like a snowball with a white coat and a white mane and a white tail, out of the goodness of her heart, her mother had gone out and bought her black mane dye at a discount store. That had been two months ago. The dye had been cheap, and had washed out in the bath. Now all that remained of the previous black was a steely gray. Willow just wanted it gone. She wanted her red back. "Yeah," she muttered. "Do you think she'll bleach it again?" Willow sighed. "What do you think? She hates me for my cutie mark... I'm surprised she hasn't branded it off or something." Dancer made a sour face, and her stomach growled again. "What's her problem anyways?" The white filly only shook her head. "She said real mares don't want to grow up to cut ponies with knives." Dancer glared at her reflection in the window. Willow shifted—her friend did look really thin. "Well that's dumb. Doesn't she know that you always sew it up again?" "Yeah..." Her high voice squeaked a little and she hurriedly cleared her throat. She looked for a way to change the topic. "Look, do you want to do this or not?" The words had hardly left her tongue before panic surged through her brain. Why wasn't there a rewind switch on her mouth? Dancer jumped. "Right!" She started towards the door of the large grocer and beckoned Willow with her tail. "C'mon!" Willow followed, unsettled and nervous to the fact that she was entering a store with intentions to steal. Dancer seemed nervous as well, but the only pony that seemed to notice was Willow. Her eyes scanned everything as the both of them brushed past an old couple in the doorway. This was one of the oldest stores in the downtown district. The checkered tile in the traffic areas had been worn down to a dirty beige that was the ceramic below, and the entire store, despite the fact that it was swept and mopped daily, appeared a dirty white-brown color, a musty smell to go with it. Dancer had chosen this time to carry out her plan because the store was most busy right at high noon. Willow simply followed as the green filly led her between ponies and shelves to an area more near the back of the store. After a moment, Dancer stopped, Willow almost bumping into her. She threw a quick look around to make sure there was nopony near, then nodded to Willow. "Okay." Willow didn't look, but saw in her peripherals as Dancer loaded her saddlebags with a few packs of oats, a quarter-pound burlap sack of salted sunflower seeds, and a candy bar or two for good measure. After a few more items, her bags were as full as they could nonchalantly get. Dancer nodded to Willow again, eyes darting about the store frantically as she swallowed her nervousness. "Okay. Your turn." Willow only tensed and closed her eyes as she felt the weight of guilt settle in in her left saddlebag, then the right. She didn't know what it was Dancer was putting in the bags; she didn't want to know. She was only doing this for her, only for Dancer, for her friend, because she and her family were starving. It felt so wrong. She tried to convince herself that the pony who owned this store wouldn't miss twenty bits worth of food, but stealing wasn't right, no matter what. Ponies were supposed to work for the things they wanted—that's what her father had told her... before he had left Willow's mother, not even bothering with assets; he took what was his that he could fit in a wagon and rolled out like the plague had struck. But Dancer's parents did work hard, and everypony had to eat. "Come on," Dancer said tensely. "Let's go." Her joints were stiff. The tendons in her legs felt tight as Willow less-than-casually plodded after Dancer towards the front of the store. Every eye seemed to be on her. She panicked. Everypony knew what she was doing, and they were going to catch her, to stop her, put her in jail like her mother had said they did to terrible foals like her. The brown pony who owned the store watched her through narrowed eyes over his narrow-frame glasses as she lumbered past the counter for the exit. Willow hung her head and pretended she hadn't seen him, though she knew he knew she had. She winced as she crossed the threshold, back out into the smog-filtered sun from the nearby coal plant, expecting somepony to grab her by the tail and yank her and her guilt back into the store or yell for her to stop. None of these two things happened, however, and in a moment, she was running behind Dancer as the green filly cantered down the sidewalk dogleggedly. After a moment, Dancer led Willow down an alley between an old pawn shop and a grungy flower shop and stopped behind a dumpster overloaded with crushed pallets up against a crumbly brick wall, panting slightly. "We did it!" she cheered in a slightly-refrained voice. "It worked!" She wrapped Willow, who had been looking around frantically to see if they had been followed, into a tight hug. Willow shrugged her bags off like they were filled with fire ants once the hug was over and they hit the ground with a casual thud. "I-I can't believe we did that." Dancer danced on the tips of her hooves in joy. "Mom's gonna' be so happy!" She gave Willow a playful shove. "Come on, lighten up." She flicked her ears. "S-sorry... I'm just feeling a little weird." Dancer frowned. "Sick?" Willow nodded. The green filly made a deject face. "Well that's too bad... Hey." She slid her head under the straps of Willow's discarded bags and slung them onto her back over the others. "I'm gonna' get this home." She smiled. "See you tomorrow, Willow?" Willow smiled back, but it came out as more of a leer. "Okay, see ya', Dancer." "Bye..." the filly replied, a little thrown off by her friend's lack of enthusiasm. She smiled again, then turned and disappeared around the corner. Willow sat there for maybe five minutes, thinking, but not really. Maybe it wasn't so bad... She hadn't gotten caught, and Dancer's family would be able to eat now. She left the seclusion of the dumpster and started back for the street. No, it hadn't been bad. She hadn't stolen anything for herself. Only helping a friend in need. That couldn't be wrong. Could it? She tried to force a smile as she rounded the brick corner of the pawn shop and ran right into a firm, brown chest. All at once, her muscles locked, and a whimper escaped her throat. She knew who it was even before her amber eyes slowly scaled the pony's chest to meet his angry, impatient face. "Where is it?" he demanded coldly, eyes magnified slightly in his glasses so they looked like they were boring into her like lasers. She tried to draw away, to curl up like a bowling ball, but his hoof snapped out and jerked her foreleg, keeping her upright and in front of him. "W-w-where's w-what?" she managed to stammer. He growled and gave her another yank. "You know perfectly well what, you little thief," he hissed. Turning, he started to pull her away, back towards the store. Willow half fought, knowing the stallion was easily stronger than her. Hardly anypony on the street paid her mind, and the ones who did only grinned knowingly or nodded courteously to the brown pony. She remained silent as he drug her back through the door to the grocer, past the multiple checkout lines, and into the raggedy back office. He half threw, half shoved her down in front of a desk made of two-by-fours and particle board and stomped around to the other side to stand proper to her. He glared at her for a good ten seconds, sizing Willow up while she tried to make herself look as small as possible. She could only look into his very angry, pink eyes. "Do you think you're cool?" he growled after a moment of silent intimidation. She didn't understand. "I—" "Do you think it's fun!?" The desk shook as he pounded his forehooves on the stained surface. Leaning forward, he bared his teeth at the cowering filly. "Running a store isn't easy, you know! I've had to plywood two windows just this week because some little shits decided that they'd throw bricks from the street! Last month, the power cable snapped because there were too many Celestia damned horseshoes hanging from it, and it took the city fourteen hours to fix it; by then, all the food in the freezers had gone bad!" He was starting to go red like a beet. "And every day, you little bastards come in here and think you're entitled to steal my merchandise! I have kids to feed you know!" "I—" "You'd better be sorry!" He snapped at her, muzzle so close she was sure he had been trying to bite off the tip of her snout. She cried. Two sniffles and a sob, and the tears streaked her face. Clamping her eyes shut, she tried to hide her face from the stallion. He gave a gruff sigh. "Come on now." He frowned when she refused to look at him. "Hey," He chuckled awkwardly, "you'd make a terrible thief..." Still, she sobbed. "Hey," he said firmly, lifting her chin with a forehoof. "Stop the waterworks." Willow sniffed and swallowed a wet lump, focussing unsure, shimmery eyes on the bifocaled stallion. "W-what?" He sighed again. "Tell you what, you promise to never do it again, and I'll just have your parents come and get you. I won't call the authorities on you." Willow's eyes widened fearfully and she shook her head like a can of spray paint. "N-no! Don't do that!" He cocked a brow. "Call the authorities? I'm not. Didn't ya' just hear me?" She shook her head again. "No, I mean my mom. You can't tell my mom!" He frowned at her for a second, eyes traveling to her cutie mark. "Say... I know you." He bit his inner lip. "You're Lily's foal." Willow shrunk away like he had threatened her with a knife. "You... you know my mom?" Panic seeped into her voice like the stallion knowing her mother directly related to the end of Equestria. The store owner made a confused face at the filly's over-dramatic reaction. "Yeah... She stops by every day around five for a paper and a small bottle of cider." Willow was sure she was going to flop over dead any minute now, suffer a heart attack from panic. "Please don't tell her." He shook his head. "You'll never learn if you don't get in trouble." Willow squeaked. "Then call the authorities!" He positively balked at her. "You want me to send you to jail?" She nodded frantically. "Yes. Please, just don't tell my mom." The stallion scratched his chin with a forehoof. "You don't want to get in trouble with the authorities—they'll tell your mom anyways." He gave her a reasoning look. "You're gonna wait here until your mom gets here—" Willow's gasp of horror nearly drowned him out. "—and then I'll let her take you home." His tone switched to something a little more intimidating. "What did you steal?" "Nothing," she lied. An annoyed look crossed his face. "Look, Willow, yes I know your name, your mom rants about you every damned time she comes in here. Now look, I saw you and that green filly come in here with empty bags and leave with them full. Now you don't even have any bags." He tapped the desk impatiently. "So, what did you steal?" "Nothing," she repeated lamely, thinking and caring only of what her mother would do to her. His glare intensified. "It was that green filly with you who has them, isn't it?" Willow shook her head. "No!" her panicked features seemed to say otherwise, though. "What's her name?" "I don't know." He deadpanned. Willow tried to come up with a name, any name, just to satisfy him. Her eyes found the answer on the desk before her. "Her name was Screw..." She paused. "Screw Driver." His eyes drifted, almost lazily, to the screwdriver on his desk, and the accusing drive faded from his face. He stood suddenly. "Well that's enough of that." Trotting briskly to the door, he hardly cast her a look. "You can wait here until I can catch your mother." "No!" She ran up to him. "Please, Mr!" He opened the door and backed out, making sure to give her no room to squeeze by in the event she tried to escape. "I don't help liars." The door slammed in her face, then came the sound from the lock as the key was inserted from the other end. It was like somepony has slugged her. Willow fell back on her haunches, eyes shimmering as fresh tears assaulted her. That was it. She was dead. Her mother would come barging in and kill her, then bury her in the backyard with a headstone labeled 'the filly who stole and lied about it'. For three hours, she sat there in self-induced agony. Fearful that every voice was her mother's, every sound was that of the mare about to open the door. After three hours of jump and shock, though, she had grown numb, and that's why it was even more of a shock when the door did open, and a pony did enter. The honeydew-colored mare stood beside the store owner with a little smile on her face, head stooped a little as if she were embarrassed and ashamed. "I'm really sorry Mr. Oakberry; I really don't know what's gotten into her." She flipped her pink and orange mane and shifted her stance from the right foreleg to the left. He shrugged, blushing the tiniest bit. "It's fine, Lily. Every foal goes through the stage." She nodded slowly. "I know. Hey, thanks for telling me and not just turning her in or something." He tipped an imaginary hat to her. "Anything anytime, Lily." Lily's eyes brushed over Willow for the first time and the foal winced at the amber gaze, hot as the sun. Lily turned her back and motioned stiffly with her tail, signifying for Willow to follow. The store owner stepped aside as Willow drug her hooves past, and mother and daughter made their way for the exit. The walk home was painfully-silent. It didn't matter if the city was bustling, Lily didn't say a thing, and Willow didn't dare even try to look at her mother. Ten minutes' worth of a walk brought them to a small home in a line of homes that flaunted middle class like it was some sort of an achievement. Up the walk, still nothing. Lily unlocked the front door and held it open for Willow, eyes glaring the small filly into the unlit house. Willow sniffed as she looked around the entryway, knowing not which way her mother would take her. The sound of the door closing behind her jarred her attention, and she turned back to try and catch some sort of non-verbal hint as to what she should do. It was odd—her mother normally yelled when she got really angry. The fact that she wasn't yelling suggested something was wrong. Willow hardly had time to register the movement. Next thing she knew, she on her rump, face throbbing like an hour-old bee sting. Her mother stood there, one forehoof raised in threat of a second strike. "What in the name of Celestia is your problem!?" Willow scrambled away, sliding backwards with her forehooves. "I-I-I—" She lost her balance and sprawled on her back. "Get up!" Lily stalked over to Willow and glared down at her, nostrils flaring like a cartoon bull. "Are you determined to ruin me?" she hissed lowly, circling Willow as she picked herself up. "How do you think it looks to other ponies when my foal is running around the city, stealing things!?" "B-but I didn't—" The hoof struck again, this time on her flank, right over her cutie mark. Willow gasped and jumped like she had been shocked. "He caught you!" she bellowed. Willow knew she should tell the truth, should make it all clear, but fear clouded her brain and told it to do only one thing: self-preserve, and denying all chance that she had done something bad, in her filly mind's eye, set some sort of a safe ground. "I didn't steal anything," she whined. "He just grabbed me and said I did." Another blow. "Don't lie to me!" "I'm not." Two more. Her flank was starting to feel raw. It wasn't a little slap like some mothers considered to be discipline, it was an all-out slew with the side of the hoof. The burning made her glad that her mother wasn't a working-class pony, and didn't wear horseshoes. "Go to your room!" Lily bellowed, probably loud enough to rouse the neighbors. Scrambling to her hooves, Willow scampered for her room on three legs, the muscles in her left leg cramping up. "I didn't do it," she gasped under her breath. "I didn't steal." -ooOoo- In her room—a space that had been intended as more of a small office—she had cried, and cried, and cried some more. It all came flooding out. Her mane and tail, she wanted her mane and tail back. She wanted her friends back, all scared off by her mother. Everything she knew was doubt, and for that she drew hate upon herself. Her stupid cutie mark had just had to come along and ruin her life. Mother had been snappy then, but never cruel, never spiteful nor hateful. She missed the hugs, the kisses, the latenight 'I love you's' as her mother tucked her into bed, very occasionally reading her a story; to know that that had all changed because of a mark on your flank was almost too much to bear. The punishments had gone on that night, three times her mother had 'given her something to cry about' for crying when she wasn't supposed to, and then the ten after that in the following two days had been for waking the neighbors. "You don't lie to me," had been her excuse. "You never lie." The message, as if beaten into her through her face and flank, stuck. It was apparent that lying was a crime worse than murder, and punishable within fair reason by a full night of punishment that even questioning neighbors couldn't put down. Stealing had been forced too, of course it had, but lying was the biggest no-no, the most punishable one. "Willow?" Sunny asked skeptically. "Are you okay?" Willow shook her head clear. "Y-yeah. I'm fine." She tried not to think of how long she had been sitting there staring blankly at him while her mind played its cruel games. The flashback had been random, useless, and the fact that something as dismissible as a little fib had summoned it caused her to worry for her own well-being. What if she locked up when she wasn't locked in some confinement room or resting in a subway? What if she locked up when she needed to stay focused, to protect Sunny? She couldn't afford it. Willow noticed that Sunbathe kept tossing her unsure looks from where she lay beside the mare with the flamethrower. A good guess said that the mare was interested in Willow's eyes, as anypony would be. "Willow, something's up." She looked back to Sunny. He had lifted his head, and now looked at her through the dark, ears perked. "You've been acting strange lately." She shook her head. "I'm fine, okay." Lifting herself, she stretched until both her forelegs popped pleasantly and made her way quietly over to Sunbathe. The golden mare looked pretty gray in Willow's modified vision. Sunbathe looked up as Willow sat beside her. "What is it?" she asked skeptically, but not without curiosity. Willow turned her head away, purposefully not showing her eyes. "We should get going soon. I don't think we can spare to wait much longer." "I was hoping to—" Willow cut her off. "Have you ever dealt with these things before?" she whispered loudly. "They're like bloodhounds. The longer you stay in one place, the faster they find you. We need to get moving now, or we won't be able to later." Sunbathe bit her lip. "I'm going to trust you." She cleared her throat. "Okay everypony, break's over. Let's get moving." They moved fast. In less than a minute, all fourteen of them were gathered and standing at the edge of the station platform. Willow thought it was fairly interesting to watch how they naturally segregated. She, Sunny, Candy, and Cotton all stayed clumped together. The three civilians stayed to themselves, muttering quietly, and the REA ponies seemed to be trying to form some sort of seven pony formation. Silver was the only one out of place. She kept throwing glances between Willow and Sunbathe, not sure of which one she wanted more. Finally, she settled on Willow's ragtag group. "How sweet," Willow chided, feeling some of her playfulness shining through. "You like us that much?" "Whatever," Silver groused. "You guys... just seem to know more." Sunbathe led them all, letting them all follow along at a parkstroller's pace. It only took Willow a moment to realize how annoying the REA ponies' flashlights were to her. While she could see fine in the dark, they needed the powerful beams to see. The only problem was that the lights washed out her vision. Anywhere the lights shone, all she could see was a blinding yellow-white color. It seemed rather ironic that the flashlights were doing the exact opposite of their purpose for her. She blinked a few times. The yellow color of her eyesight seemed to be morphing into a lighter color. It had to be the lights. The subways fell perfectly into her definition of a creepy tunnel. All was quiet apart from the clop of the fifty-six hooves on the concrete trackwell. Occasionally, somepony's hoof would set down on a track rail and cause an off-pitch 'clank'. Willow had never understood why ponies found silence more creepy. Personally, she would have been a lot more scared if she could hear other hoofsteps and zombies roaring or hissing in the distance. Silence was, well... there was just nothing there, or there was, it was just being quiet and waiting to spring at you from the darkness and savage you. She bit the side of her tongue. Maybe that's why ponies were afraid of dark silence. "Willow," Sunny said after a moment, "you're doing that thing where you stare off into space and get that really distant look." She blinked a few times, then looked over at the pegasus. He strode beside her, something she hadn't really been too aware of. "I was just thinking. You know, if you've ever been sitting in a meeting or something, and start to zone out, and when you come back to it you're staring at a mare's flank and she's looking at you like you're some pervert?" He broke a little grin. "And you speak from experience?" Willow opened her mouth, then closed it again, realizing just what he was getting at. "Hey now." She shot the grin back. "C'mon, Sunny. You know me better than most ponies who're still alive. I've met nice mares before." Sunny cleared his throat loudly and tossed his head towards Candy, who was muttering about something with Silver as the two walked along side by side. Willow huffed and gave him a shove. "That was a little bit of mistake. Trust me, Sunny, it seemed good at the time, but now I can't look at her without feeling awkward or imaging her lying on her back shooting that cute little grin up at me, her striped mane hanging around her face and her legs—" "Okay," Sunny interjected quickly. "I get it, Willow." She shook her head. "You totally don't." He sighed, and his cheeks seemed to go a deeper shade of grayish-orange than the rest of him. "Yes, Willow." She shrugged and shot him a sly look. "If you're not worried about me accidentally freaking out and snapping your neck like a toothpick, the offer's there." Now she was sure he was blushing. "Just... stop, Willow. You're going to give me a nosebleed." She laughed and looked away down the tunnel. "You are strong-willed. No single stallion with a fair brain in their head would turn down an opportunity with a decent mare for no charge." Now he was glaring at her. "It's not that. It's the touch thing, okay. Seriously, touching you makes me queasy and itchy. To actually have something of mine inside you..." He shivered. She took the opportunity. "You're shivering like it'd be cold or something. It's actually very warm, Sunny." His head flopped down and his mane fell around his eyes, shielding his blushing face. "I'm done talking to you." Trying not to snort, she quickened her pace to move up between Sunbathe and the brown mare with the flamethrower. Sunny needed a break from her or he might actually blush himself a nosebleed. "I've been meaning to ask you," Sunbathe said as Willow fell in stride, "why do your eyes glow?" "I'm a hybrid." Willow smiled. Something about the title just made her feel awesome. "You've already said that. Mind clarifying a bit?" Willow thought for a moment, consciously aware that the other REA ponies were listening. "It means I'm half zombie." Several rifles clicked. "Not contagious," she growled through clenched teeth. "By some crazy shot of luck and an illegal antibiotic, I... somehow... bonded, with the zombie virus." Sunbathe seemed rather intrigued. "How does that work?" Willow shrugged, trying to play it off as nothing. "Well, I've got the zombie thing, but I'm still a pony." She was purposefully avoiding the smart talk. She had learned that the smarter you talked, the more inclined a pony was to ask more questions. "Zombie strength: that's how I bent the bar through that gate. The glowing eyes, you know, because zombie eyes glow, that's why I can see in the dark... I like the taste of blood." "What?" Sunbathe spluttered. Willow rolled her shoulders. "Ever since I changed, to me, blood tastes pretty good. It's like... a little like strawberry syrup, but less sweet and a lot more tart. And meat's kind of like eating bloody sponge... It's pretty good." She tried not to laugh at the way Sunbathe was leering. "So I can kind of understand why zombies eat ponies, but the aggression is still unexplainable." Sunbathe closed her jaw. "So, you're half a zombie, but when you look at me, you don't want to chomp my neck?" "Not at all." She smirked in the darkness. "But it would be tasty." Another rifle clicked and she tensed. "It was a joke, seriously, whoever's making the rifle noises. Don't shoot me, okay. I'm not going to hurt anypony." "How far can you see ahead?" Sunbathe asked, changing topics. Willow snorted. "I can't see at all with your lights shining. It drowns out my night vision." Sunbathe stepped back and turned her light to the side, shining it along the gray, tunnel wall. "How about now?" Willow peered ahead. "All the way to the curve about five-hundred feet up." "No zombies?" "Nope." She fell in behind Willow. "I'll let you lead." Willow flicked her charred tail. "If you wish." It was maybe five minutes before her boredom took over. Counting concrete sections had gotten old fast. She found her solution to boredom in the brown mare to her right. She looked rather intimidating in the silver hotsuit, with two, large tanks mounted on her back that tied into a feed system. "What's your name?" she asked casually. The mare turned her head and Willow reared back a tiny bit. "Ember." The whole right side of her face was pinkish and bubbly under an abnormally-thin, brown coat and her cream-colored mane grew a little thinner than the left side. Her right eye swiveled in tandem with the left, though it was a milky blue, completely sightless, and she only had the lower half of her ear. Willow nodded. "Fitting..." She cleared her throat. "I'm Willow." The mare turned her head back straight, hiding the burn from view. "Nice name." She clicked her tongue. "How'd your tail get burnt?" Her voice was a lot higher than Willow expected it to be. It was high, but it had a damaged, raspy grate to it, like she had a bad cold. "One of you REA flamethrower ponies got me as I was jumping out of a building." She spoke proudly, trying to avoid an accusatory tone. The mare smiled. "Sounds like one of us... fire hurts, doesn't it?" "Yes... yes it does... Not to be harsh, but it seems you speak from experience?" Willow regretted the question the moment she asked it. Ember's features darkened and her left ear folded; the right one just kind of twitched. "Sometimes, accidents happen." "Would it hurt if I asked?" Ember shook her head. "No, it's fine... It's kind of funny actually. My mom would always tell me when I was a foal that if I played with fire I'd get burned." She smiled again. "When I got my cutie mark, she nearly died... You can't see it, but it's a flint stone making a spark. Anyways, one day—I was still pretty young then, still living with my mother—I was messing with these oxygen tanks my dad used for his new oxywelder, and I guess it blew up. I don't remember it too well, but when I woke up, I had burns... everywhere." Willow just now realized it. This mare was young, like, really young. She'd probably faked her birth date just to get into the REA. It was the burns; they made her look older than she really was. "Oh... are they worse under the suit?" Ember nodded sadly. "I used to look really nice, had a coltfriend and everything." Willow clicked her tongue. "He wasn't a very good coltfriend if he left you just because you got burned. You know what that means?" "He only liked me for my looks," she whispered. "I know. Trust me, Willow, just like that, you go from being the most popular pony in your class to the freak. You don't find out how superficial everypony is until they hate you because you look different." Willow didn't look at her. "I'm sorry." "No, don't be." Ember nodded slowly. "I can say that almost blowing myself up was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I didn't know who I was. I was fake, and all that mattered was how long I brushed my mane in the morning. After they took the bandages off, I found out who my real friends were, and I could just be me. I joined the REA, and that's about where we are now." Willow couldn't help but smile. "That's a great story. I don't mean the burns or anything, but how you bettered yourself with the worst. Bittersweet." Ember chuckled lightly. "Thanks." "No, really. I used to work in medical. Everypony just seems to use their injuries as a chance to whine and act helpless and get paid time off work." She shrugged. "No sick days for me. Burning things is pretty fun." She paused, looking to the barrel and feed mounted to the left of her neck and across her back. "The hardest part is not burning yourself or your teammates." Willow pulled her eyes—which were feeling a little odd—away from the tunnel ahead to eye the device. "How do you avoid burning yourself? I mean, you're spraying fire from your back." In a swift movement, Ember clamped on a small device just below her chin and jerked her midsection downwards. The movement coaxed a series of clicks from the heavy device as the tube and igniter slid forward on a small track, clacking into place after a foot of travel. "Innovation," she replied smugly. Willow bobbed her head in approval. "Real killing machine. I would say it's cruel, had you not been using it on zombies." "Yeah, well, it was never intended to be used on zombies, given the fact that, well, the bastards didn't used to exist. The first instances of flamethrowers were designed to clear grasslands and heavy foliage. It wasn't long before criminals bought them and started pointing the things at ponies. Next thing anypony knew, kerosine was being fired from REA manufactured weapons with the use of nitrogen. They were stockpiled, only authorized for use twice. Then the infection broke out, and the REA needed crowd control. "Well—" Willow's eyes snapped back ahead. "Movement," she hissed immediately. It had been something for sure, but now she couldn't see a thing down the tunnel. The chatter of metallic clicks shattered the silence as numerous weapons readied behind her. Sunbathe flashed to Willow's side. "What was it?" Willow narrowed her eyes to peer ahead. "Something moved. I didn't see what it was." Sunbathe stared incredulously for a moment, then looked down the tunnel beside Willow. The casual bend was maybe fifty yards away. Willow squinted harder. It was dark down here, really dark. Even with her modified vision, she could only see about as well as one could on a half-moon night. Everything was the very darkest shade of light-blue. She blinked a few times. "Is there any sort of light ahead?" "No," Ember answered. "Why? Do you see something?" Willow blinked a few more times. "Because everything's looking blue to me." "It's because your eyes are adjusting." Cotton limped up, pushing in between Willow and Sunbathe. Willow turned her now-blue vision on the mare. "Adjusting?" Cotton nodded. "I've run tests on this. All eyes adjust to light, but normally, with expansion and constriction of the pupil. Infected eyes work a little differently, as to say, they're more advanced. They're incredibly sensitive to ultraviolet light. The more UV rays you experience, the more your eyes will try and filter the light. The exact opposite happens in the dark; when unexposed to UV rays for a given amount of time, your eyes will begin to adjust. Since the only natural source of ultraviolet is the sun, your eyes are going to assume you're in the dark, so they'll begin to compensate." "Isn't that what pupils are for?" Willow asked blandly. She rolled her eyes. "Your pupils still react in size to any source of light, but they're also reacting chemically to UV rays." "So, that's why the sun hurts my eyes?" she asked dumbly. "Exactly." She blinked some more, trying to see if they would return to the normal yellow. "So why haven't they done this before?" Cotton bit the side of her cheek. "My guess is you've never been out of the sun for very long. After all the time you spent in Bottle of Progress..." Willow winced at the name. "The lighting gave off traces of ultraviolet, but nothing close to simulate the sun. Then that day locked in the apartment and a few hours on the street. You've been deprived of natural light for a while now. Your eyes, deprived of ultraviolet light, reacting to the lack thereof, are becoming much, much more sensitive." Willow figured she'd milk the mare's knowledge. "Then why do they glow?" "That..." Cotton paused. "That, we're not too sure of. We know that it takes place in the iris, and that it's a sort of chemical reaction. The effect is a very subtle glow. It has something to do with your enhanced eyesight, but... we're all blank. The second the tissue leaves the eyeball, whatever's happening in there stops—makes testing it nearly impossible, considering no tranquilizer known to pony will put a zombie down and once the host dies, so does the reaction..." She paused skeptically. "Maybe when we're out of this, we could—" "No," Willow interjected. Cotton deflated a little. "Well, why not?" "Well, maybe I've developed a terrible phobia of examination rooms, because I was raped, in an examination room." Cotton winced. "I can understand how that—" "No!" Willow whispered loudly, as loud as a yelled whisper could be. "You don't!" Cotton seemed to have poked a tender spot and broken something. "Have you ever had a gun put to your head, and be told, and forced, t-to open your mouth, and all you can do is try to hold your neck straight so it doesn't hurt! And all you can smell is his sick arousal as your nose rubs against his dirty underbelly!" The thought caused her to throw up in her mouth, and she swallowed the volatile acids with a grimace. "Cotton folded her ears and tried to make herself look as little as possible. "I'm—" "And when they've finished with you, both of them, and left you alone, and your whole body smells like sweat and spunk!" She shook, hooves struggling to continue to carry her forward. "And when you try to throw it up to get it out of you, you can't! You can't because you haven't eaten in days! And you have to sit there and dry heave, knowing that you're digesting it! And all you wish is that the shower had a removable head so you can at least clean yourself out!" Cotton could have disappeared through the ground. Willow's breath came in short bursts, teeth clenched so hard she was sure she'd shatter them. A shiver racked her body from tail to eartip, and when it was over, she was sure a whole parade had just marched over her grave. The only thing that drew her from her rage-induced blunder, was the shine of liquid on Cotton's cheeks as she walked along, head lowered, jaw trembling slightly. Willow took a steadying breath. She had lost control, been taken back there, to the room for a second. "I-I'm sorry," Willow said after a moment. "I need to stop reminding myself of that... I need to remind myself it's not your fault." Cotton looked up after a moment, wiping her face with a forehoof. "It's fine, Willow, really. You're handling it well, compared to the common reaction. You're protecting yourself with hate, with anger. Most victims, well, they become distraught, disconnected, a crying mess curled into a ball in the corner." She let out an ashamed and relieved breath. "But yeah, your eyes. Right now, they're glowing, just a little, deep reddish-purple... That's odd actually." She leaned closer to peer at Willow's iris and Willow resisted the urge to smack her. "Usually, zombie eyes go more red." "They used to be red," Willow answered, "when I first went through the whole bonding thing. Then they went more orangish red later on." "Still," Cotton murmured. "Usually zombie eyes are just yellow and sometimes red in darker environments. I don't know what would add blue to the mix... I should be writing this down." She frowned. "Ever tested them in extreme darkness?" Cotton shook her head. "No. They don't do well in captivity. A zombie will kill itself with its own teeth or ram its head into a wall until it cracks if you try to confine them." "Well that's problematic." Her purplish-red vision allowed her to see clearly about twenty feet ahead, but beyond that, all she could really see were silhouettes. "I'd suggest being careful of looking at any lights in your current state," Cotton advised, still a little wary of Willow. "If you decided to look right at the sun with the way your eyes are adjusted now, you'd probably knock yourself out." Willow eased herself to the right, trying to see around the corner as she started through it. "I'll keep that in mind." Ahead, the tunnel sloped downwards. Willow wasn't sure of why, but she didn't like the thought of going down. "Why's the tunnel sloping?" she asked quietly in a voice that traveled. "This tunnel leads to New Central Station," answered one of the civilians from further back, a stallion. "It was built under the station already there to serve as a hub for the city's different metro lines. It's also under the Platinum Hoof skyscraper, which has six stories of basement." Willow looked back at him. "So, from there we'll be able to reach anywhere in the city?" "Yeah, all the lines tie into it in some way." "Great!" Sunbathe voiced. "Now we can regroup with the REA." Willow shot a suggested glare to the golden mare. "Are you mad? The army's backed themselves into a corner. If we head for them, we're going to trap ourselves. We need to find a way to get the hell out of this city." Sunbathe glared back. "Are you questioning my orders?" Willow simmered over to a boil. "Yes, I am, corporal. I tell you, whatever safe zone they have now, is not going to be a safe zone for very long... You ever built a dam out of sand on the beach?" Sunbathe nodded skeptically. "Yeah... what does that have to do with anything?" Willow flicked her tail. "Well, it's easy to build the dam and fill it up with water, but if it breaks, then trying to build a new one while the water's flowing everywhere is near impossible; it's moving too fast to stop." "Don't forget who you're talking to." Sunbathe rolled her eyes. "They need us." Willow stomped a hoof hard enough to send a jolt of discomfort to her shoulder. "Fourteen ponies dry on ammo isn't going to help anything! No matter what, they're not going to hold, and if they're going to fall, I'm not falling with them." Sunbathe snorted and jumped ahead of Willow, bringing them both to a stop "That's cowardice is what that is." Willow fought to keep her voice level. "I could hit you so hard in the muzzle your nose would shoot out your ass." She stopped herself and took a deep breath. Threats would do no good at this time. "Yes, I am afraid to die, okay; deep down, we all are. But it isn't cowardice to avoid a situation you know will kill you." The twelve others stopped to watch Sunbathe and Willow's debate, muttering quietly on their own opinions. "Willow," Sunny murmured amongst them. "Please don't start any fights... not now." Willow threw a look to the pegasus. He stood uncharacteristically close to an REA stallion, just in the edge of his light. She had to look away quickly though; the stallion's light sent a bolt of unpleasantness to her brain. She remembered that Sunny didn't like the dark. Sunbathe seemed to calm herself, maybe finding it wise after the shooty look Willow had given her. "Okay, fine. You go your way, my squad and I will go ours." Willow glared some more at the golden mare. The presented answer was not one she had been expecting. Splitting up was an idea that had never even crossed Willow's mind. Taking fourteen ponies low on ammo and making them two groups only increased their chances of death. "Actually..." Ember said skeptically. "I think we need to get out of the city. I almost died twice already; I don't really plan on chancing it again." Willow started forward again, wanting to get the line moving. Standing around wasn't advisable. If her presumptions were correct, these tunnels were full of zombies, and the longer that they stayed in the tunnels, the greater the chances were of the two parties meeting in a clash of lead and jaws. "So, is that it?" Sunbathe scoffed, following just a little behind Willow now, the others dotted around her attempting to listen and look nonchalant at the same time. "The city starts to fall and we have a complete breakdown of rank and order?" Willow flicked her tail. "Yep." Her eyes drifted back to the tunnel ahead and she jumped like a scared cat, her movement coaxing more rifle clicks. There was definitely something there this time, just out of the light so as the others couldn't see it. It was a changeling, undoubtedly. It walked backwards, just out of the range of the light cast by one of the flashlights amongst the group. Something kept her from calling out. She watched it, studied it as it flared its wings and hovered, observing them from the darkness, sure that nopony could see it. "What's up with you?" Ember asked Willow stared—at least from Ember's perspective—out into the dark, kneading her inner cheek with her teeth. "Just... Just keep that thing ready." Willow looked back out ahead, past the changeling. There was a widening in the tunnel ahead where four tunnels merged with one. Swiveling her ears forward, she tried to listen for anything out ahead, but the quiet murmur of the others behind her ruined any chances. "Quiet," she snapped back at the ponies behind her. "I can't hear." "Willow," Ember pressed. "What is going on?" Willow sighed and leaned in close to the mare. "They're watching us." * * * "Okay, third try. What you think of that mare?" The puce-coated pointed towards one of the REA mares as she walked ahead of them. From where Sunny walked beside the civilian at the back of the pack, he looked over the instructed, gray mare. "Um... five, I guess?" The stallion facehoofed. "You ain't very good at this game." He shook his head at Sunny's bewilderment and adopted a mildly-irritated expression. "No, OJ, look." He traced the mare's haunches with a forehoof while closing one eye. "See the way it curves down the leg, and the way she carries it? Flank don't matter if a mare can't carry it right. She a nine." Sunny was still having trouble making heads or tails of the game, and exactly what about this stallion made him an expert. He would ask him to rate a mare on a scale of one to ten, then correct him when he was wrong. "Okay," Puce—as sunny had taken to calling him—said, pointing to the head of the pack, at Willow. "What's she?" Sunny sighed. "I'd rather not." Puce gave Sunny a nudge which sent a shiver up his spine. "C'mon, tell me what you think." He sighed again and looked sidelong at Willow, just in case she turned back and saw him. "Ten," he said after a moment. The puce stallion rolled his eyes. "Now you just screwing around. Brother, I tell you what, look at the way she carry herself; she don't sway none. Ain't no mare proud of herself if she don't sway. Plus she small, so that costs her two points in the flankbook." He shrugged. "I say four plus." Sunny exhaled slowly, irritation building. "Well, I say ten." He remembered Willow and how she used to look, before her mane had faded from its brilliant color and before all the spring had faded from her step. Puce seemed confused. "Look, OJ, she—" "She's fine the way she is!" Sunny snapped suddenly, causing Puce to jump. He acted hurt and a little offended. "Geesh, sorry. I didn't know you had no thing for her." "I don't have a thing for—" "Quiet," Willow hissed backwards. "I can't hear." Not feeling the drive to talk anymore, especially to Puce, Sunny quickened his pace a little so he could walk alone. He couldn't believe himself. Just the fact that a pony had poorly judged Willow and her appearance had angered him and driven him immediately to her defense. It was a lead weight on his mind to possess the knowledge that she felt for him, but the fact that he felt back was not one he wanted to embrace nor believe. Caring for somepony always led to hurt. Always. In Desert Sage, before the infection, he had been presented with options a few times, none of which he had possessed the drive or the guts to take up. For some reason, Moon had managed to get closer to him and further over his defensive wall in one day than three different mares had been able to in two and a half years; though, that could have had something to do with her strong determination and hardheadedness. The tunnel opened out into a wide, dark space as the set of tracks they were traveling along merged with three others from different tunnels. Sunny unfurled his wings, fluttering the ends nervously as the hair along his spine began to stand up. Trying to see any more than fifteen feet was useless. All but one of the REA had turned off their lights to conserve power, and the only one on was a single, tungsten bulb hooked to a sixteen volt battery that lit up a dull circle ahead. The only one who could probably see was Willow. Willow—she seemed to be acting a little funny. She walked in an almost self-contained manner, too graceful for her normal standards, though her head worked on a fast pivot, looking this way and that. She would focus on one thing, then another, whatever it was in the dark she was looking at. Sunny tried to trace her eyes, but beyond fifteen feet, everything was lost to him. Sunny quickened his pace and trotted up past a sulking Sunbathe, taking up Willow's left ask she walked. "You're acting weird," he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. Willow jumped at his words as if his presence surprised her. "Am I?" she asked tensely. He gave her a flat look. Willow beckoned him close. Sunny moved over, stopping when he felt his flank brush hers. "They're surrounding us." Her breath tickled the hairs in his ear as she spoke. He blinked, looking straight ahead. "What?" She shushed him. "They think we can't see them... They're waiting to attack." His ear flicked and he shivered. "Why... why are they waiting?" "I don't know. Don't tell the others though; I think the changelings will attack if we discover them. Last thing we need is a panic, and we're in no situation to fight them in this wide open space." Sunny grimaced and shook his head. "But what if they do... if they attack?" He smacked his lips, feeling his mouth going dry. "What if they attack?" Willow motioned ahead with her muzzle. "There's a train stopped on the tracks ahead. If we can just make it to there, it's a good choke point." Sunny tried once again to battle the darkness with his eyes, only this time he knew something was there, and it scared him even more that he couldn't see it. Them. That he couldn't see them in the dark, following, stalking, hunting... "Bastards are smart," Ember muttered. "Who's smart?" Candy asked, pulling off the radio headset. Ember looked back. "Zombies... I swear, pretty soon the damn things are gonna' be smarter than us." The fear in her eyes shone like orbs in the light. Something told Sunny Willow had told Ember as well. "I don't like not being able to see," a mare whispered. A very faint gleam ahead caught Sunny's attention. It was the reflection from the REA pony's light off the glass of something ahead. On the tracks just a ways down the line, was a large, square shape. Sunny took this to be the railcar Willow had mentioned. "What's that?" he heard Cotton whisper behind him. "I think it's a railcar," Candy replied. "I'll see," a mare said smugly. Sunny looked back to see her fumbling for the flashlight on her battle saddle. "No wait!" he hissed. "Don't—" The powerful, white light beamed away down the tunnel, lighting up the final car of the subway train. The ring of changelings hissed at the light and scattered like cockroaches. Somepony screamed. Willow's shoulders tensed and she froze, along with the entire scene like somepony had hit the pause button to go get popcorn. All it would take was one movement to break the peace before the storm. A rifle discharged, then two more. Other lights flicked on as the fourteen ponies switched into panic mode. The flutter of insect-like wings filled the congested, yet open space, growls and screeches joining in in a cacophony of menace. "Run for the train!" Willow bellowed. She sprang forward on an invisible spring and bolted for the train car. Sunny fired his rifle at a moving shape, the sound amplified by the concrete walls surrounding him on four sides. Changelings darted in and out of shadows cast by the tunnel support beams, waiting, it seemed, for a good opportunity to attack. The others took after Willow, Sunny amongst them. Running doglegged and aiming diagonally ahead, he fired at whatever came into the light cast by somepony's flashlight. He knew he had at least hit one by the screech and the spray of gray blood. Willow had already reached the car, and stood on the hoofplate just inside the door, beckoning them frantically as she shielded the light from her eyes with a forehoof. Ember stood below, to the right of the door, flamethrower primed. Something moved near her and to her left, causing the mare to jerk the barrel of the weapon around. Brilliant, orange flame lit the tunnel like a sunrise as the stream of liquid fire sprayed from the nozzle. It arced through the air like water from a fire hose, only with the exact opposite intention, splashing across the ground and support beams for the tunnel, washing across a dozen zombies, the flaming kerosine caking them in cocoons of fire. The now-burning changelings scattered like ants under a magnifying glass, screeching and hissing as they darted about like legged torches. The kerosene fire lit the tunnel better than any light could, though Sunny really wished it hadn't. When Willow had said 'surrounded', she had meant it. There were changelings, maybe four dozen of them, but beyond them, held back by some sort of changeling zombie will, were hundreds of mixed infected, and they all appeared to be closing in on the very unfortunate fourteen ponies. What shocked him most was how they had managed to remain so quiet. He had never heard a thing. Candy reached the car ahead of him and pulled herself up, then turned around and offered a hoof to Cotton to pull her and her injured leg up. Sunny was forced to wait on the tips of his hooves as a civilian mare went next, then two ponies from the REA. Ember opened the nozzle again, using about three seconds to draw a rough circle of flame on the ground around the ponies now piling around the back of the train car. The changelings hesitated at the fire, hissing and turning their heads. Sunny fired at the ones that dared cross, counting three dead now. In the rush, he had lost track of how much ammo he had left. The puce stallion had fallen behind somehow in the race, and was now only reaching the train car, eyes bulging like water balloons as he ran for them, empty pistol in his jaws. Ember climbed to semi-safety next, the nozzle of her flamethrower still burning with excess kerosene. That left Sunny, Puce, and an REA mare. A changeling burst through the fire, flying at Puce from behind. Having already trained in on it, Sunny steadied himself chomped the bit, only to have the firing pin slam to a stop on an empty chamber. Empty. Puce went down ten feet away as the changeling landed with full force on his back, rearing back and going for the killing bite. The REA mare ran to help him. "No!" Sunny yelled, reaching for her tail a moment too late. The mare shot the changeling off an immensely grateful Puce and held out a hoof to help him up. Two two disappeared in a mass of writhing, black shapes as the fire licked away, beaten down like beach toys caught in the midnight tide. The mare's body went six different directions as the powerful creatures fought over her. The ones that got pieces fled before the others could steal the bleeding delicacies, and in less than four seconds the only thing left of the two ponies was blood splayed across the dirty concrete. Sunny would have vomited had he not been frantically scrambling up to the hoofplate. Gasping for breath, he pushed himself up and whirled around to slam the door. He never got the chance. A changeling smacked him right in the chest like a bag of concrete, fanged teeth locking into his right, upper foreleg before he had even hit the ground. He screamed, and in a second, Willow was there. Her hoof collided with its face hard enough to crush its eye. Her other hoof wrapped around its neck and cinched, yanking the changeling's jaws out of Sunny in a rather painful and abrupt manner. She hurled the changeling off and it somersaulted through the air, striking the door frame and bouncing off to crash to the floor. It was up a second later, eyes fixed on Sunny's writhing form. Willow stood directly over him like a mother wolf protecting her pups. The changeling and its misshapen head tried to push past her, but she reared up and threw it into the ground. The floor shook as the creature crunched against it, then bounced back into the air to land again in a heap. Ember rushed past Willow and the immobile changeling and slammed the door. "Move back!" she yelled. Sunny felt a set of teeth fasten in his mane as the owner yanked him backwards across the grooved floor. Changelings hacked and tore at the back end of the car as Ember backed up and spread her stance. The glass windows shattered as heads and bodies tried to cram themselves through the small openings. Ember set the whole back five feet of the car aflame, turning the car into a furnace. Willow released Sunny and yanked him to his hooves. "Come on, Sunny!" Sunny tried, though when his right leg met the ground, the lightning bolt of pain that shot up it overrode the muscles, causing them to fail. The only thing that kept him from falling against the seats was Willow yanking him straight again by the mane. "What's wrong?" she asked urgently, eyes darting over his body. They came to rest on his gashed foreleg, blood running freely from the four marks in the shape of a trapezoid. "Shit." Willow ducked her head. "Throw your leg over me." Sunny knew better than to protest. He slung his left hoof around Willow's neck, strangely, not feeling uncomfortable in any manner. Willow stood up straight, lifting the bulk of his weight. Ember covered the eleven of them with the flamethrower as they fled for the front of the train, delaying what seemed to be the inevitable. "What..." Sunny said breathlessly, half hanging on Willow, "what happens when we reach the front of the train?" He pinched his eyes shut and let out a groan. A painful, prickly feeling was spreading throughout his body from his right leg, stinging like a million needles. Willow huffed as she lumbered along with his weight, focussing half on the ground and half on the pony ahead of her. "We'll improvise." Everything was starting to feel really groggy—Sunny compared the feeling to the gas used to numb patients at the dentist's. "Willow," he slurred, trying to keep his hind hooves from dragging. "Yeah?" she asked. "Are... a-are we gonna die here?" He felt her tense. "No, Sunny, we won't." Things were growing blurry now, sounds distorted. "How do you know?" She shook her head. "Just because, Sunny." She seemed to know something was wrong, because she readjusted him as she ran, taking more of his weight to the point of which she was almost fully carrying him. His head lolled over a little and he had to force himself to hold it up. "What about me?" Willow took a shaky breath between her panting. "Sunny, I promise you that as long as I am alive, nothing will ever happen to you." Sunny struggled to stay conscious; his eyelids were heavy. "How... can you... how can you promise that?" "Now what!?" Sunbathe yelled from ahead. "Because, Sunny," Willow said, her voice ripe with emotion and determination. "I will always be there for you." "Willow..." All he wanted to do was sleep, but he needed to tell her. "Willow... I... you—" "Block the windows!" somepony yelled. "Cover the back door!" Willow turned her head back to look at him, agonized with worry. "Always, Sunny." He tried to say more, but his lips felt like cooked sausages. There was a rush of nausea, then black. * * * "Okay, now push that one forward." Snowglobe motioned towards a small lever on the control console. Copper, focussing intently from his position in the driver's seat, reached out a hoof and eased the lever forward. He was rewarded immediately with an increase in tone from the engine room as the generators sped up consumption. "That's the throttle," Snowglobe clarified. "Now draw it back to where it was." Copper complied. Snowglobe had spent the last thirty minutes instructing the red pegasus on how to drive the locomotive. She had started with basic braking procedures—it was always a good idea to teach a pony how to stop before you taught them how to go. "Is that everything?" he asked, scanning the console. Snowglobe nodded. "Now tell me what the safe stopping distance is for this unit at sixty miles per hour." Copper glared mutinously at the yellow air brake handle. "A thousand feet?" He shrugged. "Fifteen hundred." Another shrug. "I was close." Snowglobe flicked her tail. "Yeah, and when it comes to not crashing, close doesn't cut it." He sighed in exasperation. "Okay." She thumped his right shoulder with a forehoof. "You need to take this seriously. We'll be reaching Baltimare really soon." Copper rubbed his shoulder. "So, just to get this straight, you want to leave the engine on the outskirts of the city?" "Well there's no way we're driving right up to the REA with it." She huffed. "You said it yourself—they'd steal the bits off a dead mare's eyes. What do you think they're gonna do when a bunch of poorly-armed survivors roll up to them in a mint-condition, gemstone-powered locomotive unit?" "They're going to want to expand their mechanical inventory," he groused. "And if what they did to you and Dusty is the case, we don't want to all trot up there at once and take the chance." "So that's why Moon and the big brown one are going and leaving us here to safeguard the engine?" Snowglobe nodded simply. "They should be able to make contact with us within a two mile radius with the two-way radios I found in the emergency box." Copper went silent for a moment. "What if Baltimare's gone like Canterlot?" Snowglobe shook her head. "I don't think any of us know... If it comes to that, we'll just have to try something else." "What else!?" he snapped with sudden venom. "Baltimare was home to the second largest REA base in Equestria. The largest is Canterlot. If Baltimare didn't make it, then no other place is going to have a chance." "We'll find something," she growled, leaning towards him with her muzzle. "I don't care if it takes my entire life, but the last thing I'm going to do is curl up and wait to die." Moon entered the cabin through the generator room, catching the site of the two half-glaring at one another. "You two about to kiss?" she joked. Snowglobe realized how awkwardly close she was standing to Copper, having practically been leaning over him to demonstrate the controls. "He's gay, Moon," she countered. Moon shrugged. "So're you, but that didn't seem to stop you with Dusty." Snowglobe winced. She had told Moon about her possible wing fetish with stallions, now it didn't seem like it had been such a great idea. Moon, noticing the look in Snowglobe's eyes, wisely changed the subject. "How long until we reach city limits?" Snowglobe peered out the windshield at the morning sun. "Three hours, give or take one in either direction. "I just have to wonder," said Copper, a dejected tone about him. "If it's anything like Appleoosa, won't there be stumblers all around the city?" "Most likely." Moon shrugged. "Soooo," he urged, "how do you expect to even get close to the barrier? Ask them nicely to move? Swim?" Moon gave him a hot stare for his disrespectful tone. "I was planning for that. Canterlot had elevated tracks running everywhere. Once we hit the city, there has to be an elevated section of track with all the buildings around." Copper rolled his eyes. "It's always guessing." "Well I'm sorry," Moon huffed. "I'm sorry none of us are REA intelligence agents that know everything. The only pony who comes close to that is Range." Copper held up his hooves in a gesture of apology. "Okay, okay, take it easy. I just want something to go good for once. I'm lucky to be alive after this whole mess, and guesses and surprises are the last thing I want to see." "The last thing we all want to see," Snowglobe corrected. The rear cabin door swung open again, and this time Brick entered. Copper chose to use the stallion's entry as a chance to drop out of the minor confrontation, and he went to glaring at the sun out the window. "Hey, Brick," Moon greeted casually. Brick gave his head a brief bow. "What do you think of the plan?" He shrugged and shifted his stance, eyes flicking to the right. Moon sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "I know it could be better, but it's all we've got." He closed his eyes and nodded. Snowglobe, who had watched the exchange, grinned cockeyed at Moon. "When did you learn to speak Brick?" Moon squinted, then softened her expression as the wording of the joke reached her. "We've been talking," she said in playful defense. Snowglobe quirked a brow. "Talking?" Moon shrugged. "As close as talking gets with Brick." She turned to the stallion. "You've still got fifty rounds for that chaingun, right?" A nod. Moon nodded back. "Good, we might need it." She looked out ahead, the sunrise to the left casting a shadow across her face. "We might just be able to find an end to this mess." 


	18. Chapter 18

Moon bowed her head towards the locomotives cabin window, Snowglobe bowed her head back to Moon. There was a deep clunk from the engineI

**From here, Moon could see Snowglobe levitate her own radio through the glass. she replied shortly. ll back us up a quarter mile and wait there.**Ten-four.s protection wall, leaving business districts and suburbs alike to rot in despair. Though, what baffled Moon about it all was the lack of ruin, and the lack of despair. Hardly any buildings had been burnt or destroyed, and much unlike Canterlot, which was a mess of destruction and ruin, the streets of Baltimare almost seemed tidy and undisturbed.

It was as if everypony had just gotten up and left.

...Or turned into zombies without a fuss. Zombies... they were everywhere here. All along the streets below they either stumbled around or stood dumbly in states that seemed to resemble sleep on some primal scale.

t starve?s ears flicked and she watched his eyes travel downwards from the tracks to the streets below. After a moment, he nodded.

Moon continued to watch them as they walked. She felt an odd mixture brewing inside her. They were such curious creatures, though they no longer disgusted her. Her mind had accepted them as what they were and now, to her, zombies were just sort of a thing she didnt do anything about them so you just dealt with them and hoped they eventually moved away or died in a housefire.

**she asked after a moment. **

**He nodded, then let his eyes droop. **

**Moon frowned in thought. **

**A nod. **

**She thought it out. ve killed off most of the ponies by now and they don **

**Brick rolled his eyes, unsure. **

**s crazy how they don she continued. She shrugged. Her words were starting to sound rather stupid. t like the idea of those things thinking.**What... what if they remember who they were?Just to think... Every one of them... they were a pony one of them had a story... had a name, a It help but think...Really?What?Oh, sorry, Brick... Yeah... I remember Appleoosa... and the gun store.I really don

**He maintained the annoyed expression on his face and shook his head. **

**Moon folded her ears. **

**There she had just went, worrying about herself again. Brick didnt mean he was emotionless. It hadn****well, zombiest known that it would be a tender subject. It was just another thing to add to her mental list of tender subjects for certain ponies. **

**Moon looked up at the barrier; they were nearing it now. She forced herself to stop daydreaming; now was the time to focus. She squinted at the eight feet of steel erected across the track, off to the right and left where it grew much taller. **

**Brick shook his head. **

**They came to a stop ten feet from the blockade, ears perked, eyes wide and seeking. **

**Moonloads of it, whole truckloads of ammunition. she yelled. **

**Brick glared at her. **

**She rolled her eyes at his implied question and opened her mouth to yell again, but the breath she took came out as an eep instead when a bullet whizzed by and pinged off the track rail behind her. She jumped like a startled cat, and in less than a second, had her shotgun levitating before her. **

**Her eyes darted around for the source of the shot. The chambered round in her weapon was a slug, which gave her a range of anything within two hundred yards, though with accuracy only up to about fifty. **

**Her eyes found the source to be a yellow stallion roughly fifty feet away to the right, aiming a rifle clumsily with his hooves. **

**she screamed. Ducking her head down, what little that would do, she looked for means of shelter. Nothing. The tracks were barren, devoid of any shelter; there wasn**What in Celestia** a shrill voice rang out. **

**Moon sighed in relief as she watched the mare rip the rifle from the stallion**Thanks!Name and rank! Are you one of the reconnaissance crews!?We

**The mare frowned, seemingly in confusion. d you get that weapon?s chaingun. t just hand **

**Moon tethered her shotgun back to her barding. She stepped forward and looked up. **

**The mare eyed them over once more, then backed away from the wall and out of sight. **

**Moon looked over at Brick. **

**Brick shook his head and shrugged. **

Damnit,Every ti** She jumped a second time as two, high-pitched whines filled the air and the two barrier doors began to fold inwards. It took her another moment of mentally cursing herself to realize that the sound was from the two electric engines used to move the heavy, steel doors. **

**Shrugging again, Brick stepped forward, almost casually, leaving Moon nothing but to follow. **

**The massive doors stopped only a quarter of the way open, barely leaving enough room for the two ponies as they entered side by side. **

**Moon was all eyes. Just inside the two massive doors was an elevated train station, a boarding platform on either side of the tracks, rain-sheltered by steel awnings. **

**She had to admire the army**Stop, spread your front and hind legs exactly a foot and a half apart and do not any proof or reasonable proof of infection is discovered you will be shot on front,s brown mane, lifted and examined her tail, even ducking down and crawling between her legs at one point to get a look at the flesh between MoonStellar,No bites I didn

**The mare**Nope, the only thing I noticed was a the bite I almost gave you.s expression froze, the only exception her eyes widening. Crimson color crept into her cheeks and she cleared her throat, eyes darting around, then to Brick. Had anypony else heard that?

Brick was smirking out of the corner of his mouth and Moon realized just how visible her blush was. **she hissed. **

**a stallion on the platform asked. **

**The mare backed out from under Brick, the aqua glow of her illumination spell fading. re good.**I swear, I am the straightest mare in , 

**He leaned in and adjusted his glasses to peer at a near-microscopic serial number. His magnified eyes turned to Brick. d you get this?**A small town west of Appleoosa.I heard that shipment got botched.A crate containing five went missing out of the sixty they sent down there from the factories. Dove threw a fit over it.I figured there** Moon said absently. **

**The sergeant tore herself away from salivating over the chaingun. **

**t you like, the army?**Drop the city

**Moon spluttered. **

**The sergeant sighed. **

**Moon continued to balk. **

**the mare guffawed. s there to evacuate too? The wagon pullers and hot air transport only have range to about Canterlot, and we all know that place is a shitcan.**We don

**Moon shook her head slowly. **

**The sergeant attempted a smile, then sighed. re in a real mess. We lost our lines faster than we could clear the buildings.**Ponies are still trapped on the upper readying for another retreat and you going to try to get them out?Theyt enough of them and there aren** The sergeant seemed to be talking to herself now more than anything. ve been left in charge of city evacuation shall the need arise, probably because its list.**The Platinum Hoof is tied directly into the civilian transit system; there** She pointed off down the tracks. ve been prepping an engine and train.**This is crazy,Come on, let

**Moon followed the mare, grunting as she climbed up out of the trackwell, hind legs dangling at the air for a second as she pulled herself up with the fore. **

**Moon tossed another glance to Brick. re just civilians, or whatever you guys call non-REA ponies.**Haven** She held out a hoof. **

**Unsure of exactly how to respond, Moon raised her own hoof to grasp the mare**Moon.s hoof and turned to Brick, giving him the very same gesture. Brick took her hoof with a little nod, eyes darting to Moon for her support.

s Brick,Sergeant!Theys up, they

**Ears perking, Cloudstorm trotted over to him. Moon followed. **

**Tubes nodded, still listening to the radio with one ear. t get those open, then our train evac plan is as good as dead.**Okay, well, forty minutes should be enough time to get over there and key the down to the armory and get one of those semi-auto twelves, drum magazine, and see if you cans sure** A shrill whistle interrupted her. Her spun on one forehoof and cantered to the edge of the platform, looking off down the tracks. **

**Moon and Brick followed, ears perked just like everypony else**Loco!What is this!?Clouds,I told you is this!?You should be coupled to that train!t help but eye the peculiar shotgun embedded in a holster hung from the sooty stallionYa here was gonnaposed to be three cars!Now that traint get no doubleheader!Can

**Loco huffed and took a long drag on his cigar. He tossed his head to the steaming mass behind him. t no virgin and shen a mare in heat, and all it take to make her blow her load of steam all over the place a good bump in the right spot.**I wouldn thing in the buildin

**Cloudstorm hissed. **

**He huffed again and mimicked her tone, not managing anything but a high rasp. He pointed at himself, voice returning to normal. engine that can pull fifteen motherfuckin two-percent grade!**That is the only engine that

**Loco stomped his hooves. meat! Or you can just have me pull three cars up there and start a fuckingem.**I-I know where you can get an , Moon! Think before you speak!Where!?How close?Less than a mile.t the best thing to do for their own interests, but it was the right thing... Maybe.

Moon levitated the radio from her barding.

**the mare**Now, don

**They all stood upon the cloud far above him, the sun lighting their silhouettes. **

**a little blue pegasus yelled before breaking off into a fit of giggles. **

**From where he sat on the grassy knoll, Sunny flared his wings and glared up at them. t! My wings donll hurt myself!**Stop being a foal and come on!I can** Sunny repeated, now feeling a little angry. **

**Two of the colts leaned in close and whispered something to one another. They broke away with twin, evil grins. one voiced, ll just have to tell Spark that you like her.s eyes shot wide in panic and he reared up on his hind legs. t do that!his filly crush**Then fly, you foal!I can

**They didn**Get up here, Sunny!Yeah, you wimp, get up here!Get up, Sunny!I want to!But I can

**The vision blurred and he felt a pair of hooves pressing down on him. **

**t,**Sunny, get your ass up or we

**The urgency of the yell shook him out of his slumber. **

**Groggily, he lifted his head, a groan escaping his lips. **

**The surrounding commotion drove him to wonder how he had ever been asleep in the first place. Yells and growls filled the air, accompanied menacingly with the banging and groaning of steel as it was strained and abused. The floor below him rocked back and forth. Though he looked for the source of the sound, he couldnaided slightly by his memory**Oh thank Celestia!I so worried you would have died, then you wouldn

**He thumped her on the back with a forehoof, eyes practically popping out of his skull. he choked, **

**She released him to look at his face, smiling stupidly in the orange light. **

**He remembered his forehoof. Like turning on a light switch he became conscious of the pain in his leg and winced; it felt like somepony had skinned it and poured salt on it. Knowing he wasn**Poison? best I could do for the time being was administer a general antitoxin; it didn** She sighed and looked at Sunny**Unless youwhich I doubtm guessing you were dosed with some kind of sedative and possibly a ?Hemotoxin: destroys red blood cells, usually found in certain species of snakes or preying insects such as spiders, which leads me to believe that these Changelings could be blood 

**Sunny clasped his head in his hooves and groaned. t do medical magic?**I never said that,I just said I was never very good, though I did the best I could and I think I got it to work, but dizziness is a clear side-effect of lack of experience on the spellcaster

**Sunnys-length away. She stood before an upturned floor hatch as she looked down, the hair along her spine pricked where it wasn**I

**Sunny looked to Willow, now a bit on the confused side. s going on?**We got the train moving and we were almost to the station when something went wrong with the electricals.s stub of a horn stabbed through the laminated glass and a spiderweb formed around it.

He turned back and fixed his fearful eyes on Sunbathe. **He remembered the rifle on his battle saddle, then remembered a second later that it was empty. **

**re trying!**Well hey,At least they don

**the orange mare yelled. She tossed a few glass cartridges over her back and they shattered on the steel floor. Growling, she grabbed a bundle of wires in her teeth and yanked, neck straining. They snapped a moment later. m routing the battery power directly to the motors!**I don

**Sunny could barely keep up with the orange mare. She was tying wires off so fast with her hooves and teeth that she was one step below a blur. She paused to say, ll get us moving, then bit down on the connection between two wires. There was a little crackle of electricity between her teeth and she spat out the wire, flicking her tongue. **

**The back window burst inwards and the two ponies watching it opened fire. The changeling that had been shoving itself through the small gap fell limp, its body half in, half out of the window. **

**The orange mare yelled. **

**Sunny shook his head at her, and so did Sunbathe and Willow, along with two more of the REA ponies and a civilian. **

**The orange mare hefted half inch thick cable and stared at it with repulse. **

**The entire roof above them folded in with a heavy bang and a crunch. At the back window, two more changelings were trying to fight past the gunfire. **

**The orange mare raised the wire and opened her jaw wide. Growling, she snapped down on the wire and ground her teeth. There was a bright flash and a pop from her mouth and the maret much left to smile with on the right side apart from a few of her back molars. **

**Willow dug in her bag and levitated the mare a small needle wrapped in a white package, and in turn, the orange mare stared at it incredulously. s for the pain,**Once the adrenaline wears off you

**The orange mare took Willow**Sweet Celestia.I

**Sunny watched out the window with rising trepidation. Support beams were flashing by in the two forward lights, each one a little faster than the last. re going a little fast.**That** Blood ran from her lip and she coughed, spilling it down her front. **

**Sunbathe widened her eyes. **

**The mare gagged and made a face like she was going to vomit. t going to stop when we ask it to.**Theret make it past of you ever been in a train crash?Well, canre getting close?These systems were never meant to be overridden. Pull the plug and the motors go rampant. Theres still power in the third rail, but itGet to the point!If we get any unregulated power from the third rail itre going to spin forwards. We** She coughed. ll go into a Hoof**Well,I

**the mare grumbled. **

**Sunbathe yelled to the others on board. **

**The tunnel walls gave way to open space supported by pillars. They blasted through a loading station oriented around a shallow, lefthand corner and sparks hissed from the wheels of the subway car as it pitched to one side. A moment later it returned to vertical . **

**Through the lights, Sunny spotted the corner the orange mare had been referring to. He was no expert, but his mind glued the facts together. A train going this fast would not make a corner that sharp. **

**All around in the station ahead, lights flickered and blinked, lighting up portions of other tracks, and in the very center, a massive support of concrete with a row of glass elevators fitted in the side. **

**He didns largest cheese grater. **

**Ember lost her grip across from him, her hotsuit proving a poor choice for holding firmly to steel. It was Willow who managed to catch her. The white mares middle and the maret hear anything over the scream of steel, but watching the scene was pure torture. Willow had both forehooves wrapped around the vertical bar that was connected to the roof and floor. She swung back and forth, face contorted in effort as Ember dangled below her, the tips of the mares blessing he had landed between windows on a one foot strip of steel. **

**Something new was happening. He was sliding down the floor, which was actually the wall, to the wall, which was actually the floor. There was a crash and his belly turned upside down, and next thing he knew, he was falling up. His head smacked the roof, which was now the floor, and his vision went blurry. Again, the floor stopped being the floor and he found himself falling in another indistinguishable direction. **

**He caught one of the support bars with his brow and the lights went out. **

Shut up. I** She glared out the windshield at the tracks whipping by. The stallion who had semi-vulgarly introduced himself as Loco sat just to her right beside the driver**And could you put that out?Fine, IWhat was I supposed to do?Oh, I don** She huffed and went back to watching the tracks. She sighed and rolled her eyes. **

**Everypony but Moon and Brick had remained at the station at Moonwhich Snowglobe had learned had not been authorized by the army**So, just to recap this wonderful planre taking our locomotive, hooking it up to a line of passenger cars, driving it through a deteriorating zombie-infested city that happens to be a complete warzone to save a bunch of ponies stranded in a skyscraper, then drive back through a zombie-infested city?Couldn

**Brick nodded from where he sat silently in the corner of the cab. **

**Moon**Yout you be... awake?I was at the end of my shift when this whole bit of nonsense went sleep to take, I

**Loco pointed his hoof off to the left and Snowglobe**Right where?Move.s seat with surprising strength.

This is my locomotive!Yeah?And I highly doubt you know what buttons to push to make her scream the pulses through the track designed to interface with any class switching system installed within the last ten did like this layout. Who in their right mind puts all the controls on the left side of the cab?Loco could drive; even when he wasnWe

**In less than a minute, the experienced trainpony had them through another switch and backing towards the line of silver cars they had just passed. **

**Snowglobe braced herself for the impact with the couplings, though felt rather silly when the engine jolted lightly enough to be missed completely if one hadn**You might crash the couplings, but don** He smacked the airbrake and the engine gave a loud hiss as the lines purged, then gave Snowglobe a lopsided grin. s still got it.s presence, she pushed open the lower door to the windy and cloudy day. The door slammed against the side of the engine, ripped from her magic by the wind, and immediately her short, purple mane was thrashed. **

**Before she even stepped down from the platform above the wheels, she froze. Twenty fully armed and armored REA members stood before the engine in two lines of ten. **

**Snowglobe yelled backwards through the door. Cloudstorm had said this mission wasnd be okay with it. **

**There was the clanking of hooves on metal steps, and a second later Cloudstorm poked her head out beside Snowglobe. she asked with a frown, casting her eyes across the row of ponies. **

**Snowglobe made sure to listen as she trotted back to tie off the brake lines. A stallion at the lead of the group stepped forward with a courteous semi-bow. am.**It** She slated her expression. s the deal. We will be traveling through infected portions of the city in order to reach the elevated station of the tower. I want you lined up periodically along the cars on the coupling platforms and on the roof. From what the stranded said over the radio, theret care if were getting everypony on this train.s reflection in the mirror. **

**Cloudstorm nodded in affirmation to the group of twenty at attention. **

**By the time Snowglobe was back on board, the engine was humming up a storm as it pulled forward. Loco was patting the console from the hotseat, grinning. He turned his eyes to Slipstream. me this thing only has a two hundred hours on the motor.**The points

**Snowglobe fell back on her rump and looked around as they hummed off. All of a sudden, her presence seemed rather useless. Loco could drive an engine ten times as well as she ever could, and she was too damned scared to even pick up a firearm. Her eyes found their way to Moon, then to the semi-automatic, drum fed shotgun Cloudstorm had gifted her holstered to her barding, then to Brick with the massive chaingun. Cloudstorm had two nickel-plated pistols on either foreleg and Loco had his earth pony shotgun. **

**She looked down to the revolver in itt left her with ammunition, so apart from the six bullets in it, she had nothing. she muttered sourly. The situational irony tied to the name was painful. Why was it so hard? Levitate, aim, pull the trigger. Yet she was afraid to. **

**She was nothing but a tagalongs afraid of guns. The only reason she was alive was simply because she had been in the right place at the right time. Had she not received that message on the intercom to meet staff in the basement for repairs she would have died in the hospital. Without her friends, she was a zombie. **

**The floor below her vibrated warmly as the engines worked away, the throttle at full. t you worried about gem consumption?**A bit, but we** He flicked his ears and grabbed the hat off his head, scratching his neck with the bill. s one thing the REA has plenty of, itt have anything to use He flipped a switch on the console and a little light in the readout went from red to green. A second later, the signal light ahead did the same. **

**If Cloudstorm had heard the tease, she ignored it as her eyes remained focused on the massive tower. t let off that throttle and we She chuckled dryly. ll probably get a medal for being a hero and a court martial for using outside help to do it.**Do you think they** she asked in a near whisper. **

**t ask me,**I don

**To the ponies at Platinum hoof Willow jerked to attention, head spinning like a top and her body aching like a broken heart. There was a soft groan of metal from below her as she shifted her weight away from her pained ribs. She couldn**Everypony okay?Shit... no more crashing things.s back as the striped mare leaned up against the roof of the tilted car rubbing her shoulder, Cotton right beside her. Get yourselves ready re parking a train right up your puckered flanks!All ponies that are not already on the twelfth floor platform need to get up here. The train** She wasnt leave much time for thought. She exploded to her hooves and tried to rally them all. This was simply too lucky. Something would go wrong. Something had to. She spotted Ember leaned back against a seat, nursing a wound that had almost sheared off her good ear. Somehow she**Ember!Wes what they said?Shit, I think I smashed my head through a !Sunny!Here,I am so tired of getting knocked out.t a spec of dirt around and the polished marble station platform reflected whatever lay upon it, even in the mid-darkness.

Candy stumbled onto the platform, attempting to both carry Cotton and listen to the radio at the same time. She looked tense. ve got twenty minutes, tops!s shoulder. s go, out here, now! We** Sunny appeared immediately and the others began to exit in states as good as unscathed all the way down to practically missing a limb. Three remained, dead. Now, the question had arisen. she asked Candy in a hushed voice. **

**Candy looked up from the radio, her eyes two orbs of worry. **

**Willow looked around. This had to go perfectly. It just had to. Across the station was a flight of marble steps that lead up. a sign declared proudly above the walkway. **

**Too good to be true. **

**s nonsense.**Well just be killing ourselves faster... Our chances are better if we stay here** Her words were enough to stomp out the flickering candle that was hope, and almost as one, the survivors slumped. **

**Willow examined those still alive. Theyd fallen into hell and dragged himself back out again. Ember was beside him, still wearing her silver hotsuit, her scared face matted with blood from her ear. Sunbathe looked the worst; everything about her screamed resent and fear. Shet bring herself to speak a word. Instead she took a step back, towards the platform. Should she go? If they didnd drag Sunny along with her. **

**An orange mare declared suddenly, pushing to her hooves and racking a round into her battle saddle. t even gotten laid yet. I am not dying here!**I can

**Sunny limped over to stand by Willow**Wet care what they do, we** He actually sounded... disgusted. **

**Cotton stood up next, and despite a torn shoulder, made her way over to where Willow, Sunny, and the toothless REA member stood. t want to die.**Way I see it, if I die down here, I** She gave a cruel little laugh and lit the pilot light on her flamethrower. **

**One by one, they all stood, until Sunbathe was left alone on the cold marble, bleeding, tired, and alone. She looked around and laughed once, bitterly, then began to stand. She grinned, raising her head a bit. s worth a There was a guttural hiss behind her. She may have been injured, but she was still fast. Sunbathe spun on a dime and fired her automatic into the dark, six muzzle flashes lighting up the moving form of a green unicorn. It staggered, bullets ripping out its throat and face before it was lost to the darkness. Somepony flicked their light on, illuminating the twitching zombie on the ground. **

**Sunny gulped. s one...**Go!Leaving. We** the others didnd been thrown into a whirlwind holding a bag of glass shards. One of her automatics had been crushed in the saddle she wore, and either Sunbathe didnt care. Despite the battered groupst operate on emergency power. **

**Willow silently cursed the architect whore having fun. Willow snorted. She would have to rewrite that phrase. Maybe, time flies when yout long before they were to the next flight of stairs, then up another. Finally, they were at ground level. The final flight had broken off into a grand hallway that welcomed them to Platinum Hoof with some sort of a sign every ten feet or so; happy goodbyes were printed on the reverse sides. And there, at the end of the hall was a double set of wooden doors. Four ponies sat just at the end of the hall. Willow couldn**Come on,Let

**Sunbathe snapped to the yellow mare, patience non-existent. t you on the twelfth floor?**The lobby** Her eyes were sunken and sallow. The other three looked the same way. **

**s go!**E-excuse me?N-no wait, no! You cans full of them!Die in here or face dying for safety, your , now you

**Willow moved up to help, but just then Sunbathe gave a heave and the bar untwisted. She moved up beside Sunny instead, sitting just close enough to him that their coats brushed. **

**Candy stressed, grabbing the pipe with Sunbathe, the two mares freed it from the door handles and kicked open the double doors. **

**It was magnificent, the feeling only slightly undermined by the infected milling about. The ceiling was easily eight stories high, every inch of chiseled stone that had been hung from the walls leading up to form an arch and pillar system on the roof that served for both decoration and structural integrity. There were six elevator doors on either side of the place running from the entryway to the massive reception desk made of polished redwood. And there, to the right of the desk, was a red sign depicting a staircase with a down and up arrow. **

**Ember screeched a battle cry, then lunged forward. Willow didnt crowded. Sunnys head. Willow had to admit he was getting pretty good with his aim. Shet blame them either. **

**They managed to reach the stairs without loss, though more than a couple of weapons had clicked on empty and the infected they were holding back were steadily creeping closer. Ember reached the steel emergency door first and yanked it open, ushering everypony else inside. Willow and Sunny were dead in the middle of the pack as they pushed into the tight stairwell and started up the concrete steps. **

**Sunbathe gasped, half-dragging a civilian into the stairwell. Ember jumped back in attempt to pull the door closed, but a red hoof lodged itself between the door and the frame. Ember struggled with the door for a second, then shook her head. **

**The burnt mare sprang away from the door and chomped down on the bit of her flamethrower, pointing the nozzle at the doorframe. The nozzle hissed, then spat a small drizzle of fire, and that was it. Her eyes widened in horror as the red hoof wrenched the door open and a bulky stallion charged into the stairwell. **

**Willow was already at the top of the first flight by the time she realized what was happening. All she could do was yell as Ember backpedaled, then tripped over the first step leading up the stairwell and rolled like an overbalanced log onto her back at the base of the stairs. The red stallions neck and the mare screamed like a terrified filly. She squirmed and writhed, chomping down on the bit of her battle saddle. One remaining riffle on her back chattered to life, ripping holes though the zombie**Thanks...s blood drizzled down the silver leg of the firesuit in a thin line that trailed on the floor behind the two. The golden mared only managed to get halfway past the second floor when the sound of the door failing below echoed up the stairwell. Ember groaned as she limped up the stairs, almost fully supporting Sunbathe. Her injuries were getting to her it seemed. Willow stopped, readying to move back to help them.

**Sunbathe choked She pulled away from Ember at the top of the second flight and staggered up against the wall. **

**Ember acted like she wanted to argue. m sorry...**T-thank , now.t bring herself to look back as she fell in behind Ember. The burnt mare wasnIt** Willow said in a small voice, trying to comfort her friend. **

**A single gunshot echoed up the center of the stairs. Willow almost staggered. Then there was another, and another. Zombies screamed and howled, and soon those gunshots became small bursts of automatic fire. Even upon reaching the seventh flight, Willow still heard the ominous click of a firing pin striking air. **

**Sunbathe screamed. It was a terrible, blood curdling sound that sent shivers up Willowt until they hit the tenth floor were Sunbathes death that ended with nothing but agony... It wasnd seen, Willow still couldnt; it just kept going on. She lost track of what flight she was on, simply running. She blew past Sunny, and he yelled something to her that didn**We** Candy yelled, starting to stagger. She cursed breathlessly, then gave a buck that sent the radio tumbling down the stairs behind her before putting on an extra burst of speed. **

**Willow ran right past the number twelve on the wall and was halfway to the thirteenth floor before somepony yelled for her to come back. In somewhat of a daze, she turned and started to head back down. Strangely enough, it was harder to go down than up. **

**She ended up running beside Sunny as they poured out onto the fourth floor in a carpeted hallway lined with offices. There was nothing, no ponies living nor dead. The halls were just empty. Willow took it in stride. Empty was better than full of zombies. **

**Sunny panted. **

**Willow panted back. **

**The hallway they were currently in broke off into something more along the lines of a plaza, a wide, domed hall that ran through the center of the building. Benches sat back-to-back down the middle length of it and colorful decorations had been painted on the tiles then glazed over. **

**The mare theys guts blowing out. Her hooves slipped out from under her and she landed with a thud on her side. The stallion right behind her skidded to a stop and tried to turn back, but a single bullet struck him just above his left eye and his head snapped back. Down he went. **

**Candy hollered, sliding up to the corner and waving one hoof down the hall. **

**a mare yelled farther down the call. re ponies!**Where** Sunny yelled, hopping over the body of the mare and the spreading pool of blood. Willow followed, choosing to step around. **

**s not here!s mind jammed a cog somewhere s not here!?**I mean it

**Her mind didn**...Well then where in the name of Luna

**Moon snapped at Loco **

**The flustered driver mashed the brake release with his forehoof, but it was already disengaged. m tryin He tapped the air pressure gauge, which was hovering at about four pounds. ve got a break in the air line.**Well can we fix it?d had to stop in order to throw another set of switches and manually override the gates. The brakes had engaged fine, but trying to release them was a whole different story.

Snowglobe and Loco had a rushed brainstorming moment that ended with them both nodding at the conclusion, then Loco dug under the console and pulled out a roll of duct tape a couple ring clamps.

**Snowglobe called behind her as she and Loco scrambled down the stairs in the nose of the cab. **

**Moon scrambled after them, levitating her shotgun and bringing it to bear as she reached the door at the bottom. **

**Snowglobe fretted as she ducked down low and peered under the engine as she walked. s hardly even been run according to Dusty. Everything **

**Loco replied grimly. s still teething it **

**There were a few zombie pegasi within shooting range, though they didn**It probably wasn

**Loco and Snowglobe had both disappeared, crawling underneath the engine. Moon sighed. They didn**Well damn!s muffled voice reached her from below the carriage. s a dead pony tangled in the hoses. No wonder it ain.s eep of shock reached her ears. A throaty shotgun blast sounded from below the engine. s dead now!Come on! Every second we

**It was only five minutes until the two finally emerged, though it might as well have been hours. Snowglobe and Loco pulled themselves out from under the engine, both looking rather content and a little dirtier than they**Ten minutes late, ten minutes,We

**It wasn**Get me another magazine!d taken from a dead officer. **She levitated the clip, ejecting the old one in Sunnyd never been in a warzone before, and now that he was, a sort of cold appreciation was all he could feel. **

**Sunny opened his eyes. **

**There were at least two to three hundred ponies on the platform. Out of that number het already aiming for; it was useless to put a bullet in a zombie that was already falling. Every shot had to count, and hopefully theyt over a feud, or an argument, or any sort of resources. They were fighting for their right to live. **

**Sunny squeezed the bit in his mouth and nodded in slight confirmation as a silver mared seen, changelings took zombie nastiness to a whole new level. It just plain didn**It** the yellow mare beside him yelled as she took aim with the light machine gun. Aiming with the handles, she pulled the trigger and fired a burst that cut down a whole line of infected charging from a doorway. t coming.**The train isn** She took a second to wipe the grime from her brow. re dead!d tackled the mare back from the gun and clamped its scaly hide, through the mare, and pitting the marble below. **

**s too many!**Gee, I had no idea!I thought we were going to invite more!Somepony get that thirty back up!d been on the machine gun. **he yelled, scampering over to the heavy weapon and heaving it back up onto the bench. A fragile-looking blue mare in REA barding skidded to a stop beside him and heaved the ammo container back upright. ll feed you!which had been broken when the gun had fallen**Good to go!d cut through the infected.

He did his best to strafe wherever the line was lacking most, beating back hordes of infected with the ear splitting chatter of the thirty caliber weapon. The blue mare sat dedicatedly beside him, feeding the belt through her hooves as Sunny spun the weapon this way and that. Once he got into it, started leaning into the shots, it really wasnWhat

**He glanced over to see the mare looking at him with a curious eye. He looked back down the sites and pulled the trigger, clenching his teeth. **

**she returned once he**...Where

**m wearing!?**Yeah!That

**Hed never seen another saddle like his. The gun was starting to get hard to handle and he tried to go back to focussing on that. His teeth chattered it seemed even when he wasn**Because that one was my father

**Sunny**You came from Desert Sage, didn

**He nodded after a second. There were even more zombies in the hall now, too many to count. And the air around the barrel of the thirty cal was starting to shimmer. **

**Sunny gave her a look. It was a look somewhere between pity and apology, and it said everything. He silently urged her not to ask how. **

**Lance averted her eyes. **

**s here!**I can see it coming!Stay in line!Let the civilians board first! If we all run at once nopony

**He could feel the heat radiating from the weapon in his grasp. The air shimmered from breach to barrel all around the weapon, yet there wasns land between the zombies and the barrier, but that distance seemed to be getting smaller by the second. From somewhere behind him, he heard the squeal of brakes. **

**s gonna overheat!s job, at least for a moment. **

**As the seconds ticked on, Sunny found himself unable to even let off the trigger. His forelegs felt like jello and his ears rung. More than once he flinched as a smoking shell landed on his back or brushed up against his hoof. Every few seconds, their defense would crumble a little more. When ponies either got tired of standing and defending or ran out of ammunition, they**Is there a damned zombie beacon in this station!?Hey, every zombie in Equestria, come to Platinum Hoof!d used up her carbine and was now levitating two pistols which she fired in unison.

Ember was no longer being precise with her weapon. She sprayed fire out into the masses, forming a protective ring around herself as the infected actually threatened to pass her by. Sunny really hoped everypony was on the train, because at this rate, he gave their defense another twenty seconds.

**One of Willow**We have to go!Not yet!t see. A glance back confirmed it. He didns head as well. The thought was both pleasing and not.

A lucky zombie broke through what little defense remained and mounted the barrier Willow dropped it with the last round in her pistol.

Sunny couldnt even count. Everywhere the weapon turned, anything in its path was ventilated, yet it still wasnt just littering the ground; they were stacking. He wouldnAll aboard!Cash in your tickets for the long black train!t a gloomy prospect.

**Willow smacked him atop the head with her forehoof. **

**The machine gun chose that moment to seize. The barrel melted down and the next bullet blew it apart in a wave of shrapnel that jerked the barrel up and rammed the two handles into Sunnys front had been blackened. Nonetheless, she took slow and precise steps backward, lighting up everything in front of her. **

**Sunny hollered, following Willow up onto the hoofplate between the second to last and last car. There was no doubt that the train was packed. There were so many ponies that some had actually climbed up onto the roof. **

**Everypony was on board as the train began to pick up speed, still moving no faster than a light trot. Ember was the only one still on the platform, and now Sunny could see she was moving as fast as she could while still laying down fire. She couldnt help. **

**Willow yelled, hoof tapping wildly. Sunny made sure to stand just a little in front of her. Last thing he wanted was Willow charging out into that mess. With no ammo left in the weapon mounted to his saddle, nor the pistol on his foreleg, the most he could do was watch. She was only about fifteen feet from the train now, but she couldnd built herself a ten foot space bubble of fire that was rapidly shrinking. Were it not for the hotsuit she would have combusted from the swirling inferno. **

**Suddenly, Ember broke off. She hopped backwards, flamethrower still trailing slag as she reared up to make the run. Sunny almost expected it, really. At that moment, a zombie mare burst from the wall of fire, body completely ablaze as she landed square on Embers back. Flame blossomed from within the zombies name, then slumped up against him. **

**He watched the fireball, shaking his head. He was getting so tired of the death. Hed felt like an eternity. It was hard to lose somepony yous eyes shot wide as pony stepped out of the flame, completely alight with fire that licked up their legs and body. The shape staggered forward, nothing but a ball of fire with legs and a head. Sunny yelled. s her!t given up either. It seemed as if all of the forces in Equestria had conspired to keep Ember off the train. **

**Willow yelled as she pounded the railing. She wrapped one hoof around Sunny**You grab her I pull.s with the smell of burning hair and the sizzle of flesh. Sunny screamed as he tried to pull Ember aboard. Hed lost his grip. This wasnGet this suit off me!d only seen in magazines. Vicious burns and scars covered most of her right side, if that even mattered... She had broad, strong front shoulders that led down to muscular forelegs. She was one step above toned, muscle visible under her flesh but in no way obnoxious. Her breast was firm, and like the rest of her, one, tiny step above toned. The way her belly curved drew his eye to her lithe midsection and muscular haunches. His eyes continued all the way down her back legs to her rear hooves. And all of this was in a mare that stood three inches shorter than he.

Willow tapped the side of his head with a forehoof. **She reached up and closed his jaw for him. re drooling.s eyes were still too glazed to really see anything. she rasped. She shook her head and let out a crackly laugh. t believe I did that!**That was so awesome! Dear Luna I thought I was dead...Pretty soon, we

**Willow sighed and propped herself on the railing beside him. She nodded and closed her eyes.**


	19. Chapter 19

Black Dove chewed the tip of her wing in thought as she watched the clouds race by below. "Five minutes until touchdown, Marshal." A gray stallion watched her from the partition door of the skywagon like he wanted some sort of recognition for interrupting her. She showed that recognition with an angry glance away from the window that made the stallion bow and close the door. Dove sighed. She'd received a request from the Fleet Admiral himself three days ago, stating that her presence was required aboard the Celestia as soon as possible. And as if sending her Colonel wasn't enough, the second transmission made it clear that the matter was urgent and she was needed in the very flesh. "Sure," she muttered under her breath. "Whatever's convenient for you, Admiral. It's not as if I have important matters at my own hooves here." Time was short, and this trip was costing her. Baltimare was currently on the brink of being completely overwhelmed, and the worst part of it was that she couldn't do a single damned thing to help them. Baltimare needed reinforcements; hell, it needed an entire army! But she didn't have an army; she had what was left of one. And now, because she couldn't do anything about it, there was a good chance that they would lose control of the only civilian-safe stronghold under REA jurisdiction; not only would it be a terrible loss, but the REA would also lose their recruiting grounds and any credibility as a civilian safeguard. In the southwest, she had units defecting and there wasn't a single thing that could be done about it without sending more ponies out there and risking the same downfall. Because of reports and heresay that ponies claiming REA jurisdiction were enslaving and raping whomever they pleased, wearing the uniform anywhere out west was a no-go. Everything was going downhill all at once, and it didn't look good. Scouting teams she'd sent to Las Pegasus still didn't return, Canterlot was a complete loss, long given up despite its geological strongpoint, and to top it all off, pegasus ponies were becoming harder and harder to come by. Just gathering four to pull the wagon had taken plenty of leg-tweaking—something the Celestia-damned Army marshal should never have to do. The skywagon dropped through the cloud layer as the pulling team began their descent. Vast, blue ocean spanned out beneath, the green shoreline far behind. From the gray smudge on the horizon that was Baltimare, black smoke rose like a distress signal she couldn't answer. Dove held on to the handle that dangled just below the window as they banked around for the line-up. Five ships floated gracefully in the still waters below, steam trickling from the stacks of the immobile vessels. "Oh look at me!" she mimicked in a pseudo, gritty stallion's voice. "I'm Admiral Striker, and I'm important because I have a battleship!" She huffed and rolled her eyes. Four gunships surrounded a much larger vessel with a long deck across the top for landing and storing skywagons. "...I wish I had a battleship," Dove muttered sourly. The flight crew she'd managed to cobble together wouldn't even be trusted to haul a wagon of feather dusters ten feet, let alone land safely upon the deck of a floating vessel. Dove held on for dear life as the skids hit the deck with enough force to knock her against the wall. The landing proved one step away from the word crash. Dove staggered to the door, feeling a little rattled. Not waiting for it to be opened for her, as regulation stated, she butted it open and hopped down to the deck. Sighing, she flared her wings and took a moment to enjoy the cool ocean breeze as it ruffled her feathers. The enjoyment was short-lived however. Quickly, she folded her wings and brushed her white mane out of her eyes. She smoothed down a few rough patches on her graphite-colored coat, then righted her uniform. Striker still held on to the old ways, and last thing she wanted was him doing something stupid like trying to accuse her of improper etiquette. If avoidable, she always avoided wearing her uniform in general. The REA gray was just not meant to be worn over a black coat. The two colors clashed like crazy. "Marshal!" A pony broke out of the gathering crowd and Dove recognized him immediately. "Colonel Graham," she returned formally, trotting forward to meet him. Sure the graham crackers on his flanks looked tasty, but he was anything but. "There better be a good reason for this." Two armed guards took up position on either side of them, and Dove speculated whether they were there to protect her or to keep her in line. Knowing Striker, they were probably for the latter. "I can assure you, Marshal, there is." He motioned with his tail. "Admiral Striker is waiting below deck." Graham acted like he wanted to lead, but a shooty look from one of their escorts forced him back to stand beside Dove. A stallion led the way as Dove and Graham followed a little behind, two more taking up the rear. It was thoroughly aggravating getting stares from the staff and crew of the vessel as they navigated the corridors. Here, out of her jurisdiction, she might as well be a civilian. Somewhere from down a hall, she heard a wolf whistle that prickled the hair along her spine. If that had been one of her officers, he would be strung up by his hind legs and gelded. Her escorts seemed to be taking amusement in her visible anger as well. "Marshal... don't start anything," Graham whispered. "Striker's word is law. He could kill us both now if he wanted to and nopony would do a damned thing about it." She glared at him, but nodded. Of course, Graham was right; she just didn't like being told things she already knew. "Marshal?" he said suddenly. She groaned. "Yes?" "Remember that forward message from Bottle of Progress about that pegasus stallion with full immunity?" Dove's ears perked. Maybe she would actually receive some good news for once. "Go on." "He's been confirmed missing, probably dead. Apparently the location he was set to be transferred to was smack dab in ground zero." Hope shattered. "Well keep looking for him. Send out a radio transmission as soon as you can calling for an eyes out. If he's found, I want him brought straight to me. No detours, no testing. Straight. To. Me. Understood?" Graham nodded, but he wore the same look she did. Somewhere in the back of Dove's mind, her sarcastic inner-self snorted in contempt. Heh, keep dreaming. They'll find him. They'll find him just like they found your husband and two foals who never passed the infection check. "Shut up," she hissed to herself. The escorts led them around a corner and through a series of tight corridors that made the pegasus part of Dove rather uncomfortable. Eventually, they emerged into a large, domed room with a circular map that took up at least half of the space in the very center. "The admiral is just inside," said one of the stallions, nodding to a wooden door on the other side of the room. He took a step back, then motioned for the other two to do the same. The doors closed a moment later, leaving Dove and Graham alone. "What's this about?" Dove asked quietly as they paced their way around the giant map. Graham shook his head. "Something important; that's all I could get out of him." Reaching the door, Dove sat back and flared her wings. They were large, heavy things—a real mess to preen on her own. She flattened a few feathers, then folded them down against her uniform. Lastly, she adjusted her collar, then turned to Graham. "Well, how do I look?" "Graham bit his lip for a second. "Permission to be truthful, Marshal?" She cocked a brow. "...Permission granted." "Like you could use a break." Dove actually grinned. It was a fragile grin, but a grin nonetheless. She took a deep breath, then pushed open the door. Admiral Striker sat behind his desk, staring off into space. Honestly, Dove was surprised he wasn't salivating over a bottled ship collection or something just as cliché. His dull, blue-gray coat and his gray mane reflected his age better than any number, that, and the gray lining his chiseled muzzle. A single desk lamp lit his features, the rest of the room remaining in darkness. Whether he did this for effect, or if he was just trying to save power, she wasn't quite sure. Her ears flicked as Graham shut the door behind them. Slowly, Striker lifted his head from the desk and forced a casual smile. "I was starting to think you've been avoiding me, Dove." Like his appearance, his voice hinted at his age. It was low, slightly raspy, but in no way had it lost its power or authoritative tone that could have made anypony wary to cross him. Striker had always been an amazing public speaker. "Admiral," she said with a tiny hint of annoyance. "You've been in service longer than I've been alive; it's not very easy to forget you." Dove helped herself to the only seat opposite of Striker, leaving Graham to stand back by the door. Admiral Striker chuckled and leaned forward against the desk. "And somehow in this last year things all went to the drink." He sighed, and for a second he was just an old stallion. "You know, I was going to retire today. I had it all planned out and everything. The quiet life. Now without the Princesses, I'm head honcho." She deadpanned. "So what does that make me?" He smirked. "The other head honcho." Dove shook her head. "Right... Any word yet?" Striker slowly blinked. "We have learned nothing new. Her last known location was traced back to Horizon Laboratories, but beyond that, we simply do not know." Dove groaned. "Okay, but what of Luna?" "She is still unresponsive. Brainwaves are flat—a side effect of The Pulse. It seems we cannot awaken her without killing her." Dove grit her teeth. "How could anypony let this happen?" Striker's eyes flashed. "Foolish ambition. The correct safeguards were not established. They were meddling with magic beyond understanding, magic that possibly was never meant to be understood. It was foolish and dangerous, and nopony was willing to put their hoof down and halt such progress." "But The Pulse? How could—" "It was overlooked, Marshal. A discharge of unbalanced energy, or bad magic, or whatever they tried to say it was. Out of everything in this land, magic is the most powerful, and in turn, the least understood. Even Starswirl himself only skimmed the surface. Tampering with something so powerful, and so sacred, had nothing but ill effects in store." He fired a tiny, silver spark from the end of his horn. "There is magic in the mind, in us, in our blood. And like water, it can be polluted... if only they'd realized it..." Dove stomped a hoof. "But if somepony had known what they were doing, somepony like—" "They would have encouraged it!" Striker interjected sharply. He stared off into space. "Just imagine... imagine the ability to use magic to preserve the body and mind, forever, just like the princesses. For as long as anypony can remember, they have ruled Equestria, strong and mighty! It would have been the greatest breakthrough in the history of ponykind... Just think... to never have to die. So much has been lost in death, knowledge and skill we can never get back. if Starswirl The Bearded were alive today, this could have all been avoided! Death is a terrible, terrible thing, that robs us all of everything we'll ever have... just imagine if we could stop it... What if we never had to say goodbye?" Dove swallowed. There was something in the Admiral's eyes. He was no longer sitting in this dark room with her. He was somewhere else, his eyes glinting dangerously with outlandish ambition. "Sir... Admiral, Sir... Did you kn—" "This is not why I requested your presence!" he snapped suddenly, jerking back to reality. Dove stared for a moment more. Had they been in the presence of her own forces, she would have pressed, but she wasn't safe here and it definitely wasn't the time. "Why am I here, Admiral?" Striker sighed. "You are familiar with the Elements of Harmony?" She nodded. "Of course. Remember, I'm the one that proposed to you that we try to—" "I am aware." Dove sat brooding as he continued. She was getting tired of being cut off. "Well then, as we both know, the bearers, are still very much alive. Much like the princesses, they do not age; part of their magical bond with the Elements prohibits it." He sighed. "To the point... The bearers have been lost. Not killed, but lost." Dove scoffed. "How in the name of Celestia do you just lose six ponies?" "Quite easily." His tone grew bitter. "You bury them." "E-excuse me... Sir?" A projector flashed to life in the corner of the room and Dove jumped with a soft gasp. On the opposite wall, a sharp image of Canterlot appeared, though the map was only a line-art representation that slowly rotated on a three-dimensional scale. The city, covering a great deal of the mountain and the land below it, was a sight to behold, even in animated representation. "Celestia wanted to ensure the absolute safety of the Elements. And to do that, three-hundred zebra workers were blindfolded and transported to the palace, in secret I might add, to build th..." Suddenly, Striker hit a button and the projector died. "Marshal, what I am about to tell you does not leave this room, understood?" Dove ran her tongue over the roof of her mouth, hating the way it felt like sandpaper. "Understood, Sir." Behind her, the door cracked open and Graham was ordered out of the room. "Right." Striker brought the projection back up. "Deep within the base of the mountain, a vault was constructed." A yellow rectangle appeared within the representation of the mountain. "There is one entrance: a twenty-five hundred foot access tunnel driving vertically through the mountain from somewhere within the royal palace." Dove's jaw hung open as a yellow line drew itself from the top of the mountain all the way down to the shape in the middle. "Two griffon-crafted, five foot steel doors guard either end of the tunnel, enchanted by Equestria's greatest spellcasters to be unalterable, and unbreakable. There is only one way to open those doors, and it's with a spell—a spell only one pony knows." Dove's heart seemed to go sluggish. "...Celestia." "Bingo." The tunnel flashed red in the projection. "Now, it is strong belief, that the Elements, and a number of Equestria's aristocracy along with a handful of VIPs, were sealed within the mountain before the Army lost control of Canterlot. There has been speculation that Celestia is in there with them." "Is it possible..." Dove speculated. "Is it possible that Celestia is simply waiting to re-open the vault once things are safe?" The very thought disgusted her, but at the same time it seemed logical. "If that is the case, then it is a cowardly thing to do. But that doesn't matter. What it comes down to is that we can't get in, and we don't even know what's in there. Even if we could infiltrate the city, which, thanks to failure of your Army, is now impossible—" "Hey!" "—we still can not get into the vault." Throughout the entire conversation, Dove had felt her irritation steady rising. "Okay, okay, answer me this." She waved her forehooves towards the projection. "Why was I never informed of this!?" "Simple. You didn't need to know." "What do you mean I didn't need to know!?" She thumped the desk with a forehoof. "We can fix all of this if—" "No, Marshal," Strider interrupted, yet again. Dove ignored him and went on. "We can fix all of this with the bearers. We can end this!" "No, Marshal!" Striker bared his yellowed teeth. "We can find a way to open the vault! Get into the—" "The vault doesn't matter!" "But—" "Even if we had the Elements, and the bearers of them, it wouldn't work!" He growled quietly as Dove fell into shocked silence. "This is magic we've never seen before." He hit a few buttons on his desk and the projector switched to an image of a basic unicorn. "There are all different types of magic: unicorn is the most understood, but then there's earth pony magic, pegasus, zebra, griffon, changeling, unique traces found within the crystal heart." An image of each flashed on the screen as he spoke them aloud. "All different types of magic, but they all stem from the same basic root." He rubbed his temples as if the subject was stressful for him. "Every living being has magic contained within them. It's in our brains, in our blood! And it's a little bit different for everypony. We have come to understand nearly everything in our existence... everything but the very essence inside our own bodies." Dove chewed her lip. "Is there a point to all this?" Striker glared. "I'm getting there." He took a moment to compose himself. "Whatever was done... whatever caused The Pulse, it destabilized... something. It altered the magic within us, or at least the ponies in range." He propped himself on the desk. "Have you ever wondered why the disease is transferred from pony to pony through physical contact? It's because of the magic in their blood! Whatever it is, it's tainting them, and it spreads and consumes whatever life magic it comes into contact with. My scientists have come to believe that this is a self-defense mechanism." "Self defense?" "It is what we believe." He tapped his button and the outline of a brain appeared, the entirety of it colored different shades of blue, though purple vein-looking things ran all through it. "Red represents blood flow, blue represents magic. These are two different scans of the same brain, one taken to detect blood flow, and the other to detect magical energy. Don't ask me how it was done, because I don't know. But this is exactly how the normal pony brain should look." He pointed towards the cluster of dark blue. "As you can see here, magic is in the mind, making it more than just a saying. These are all new studies, but from what my best unicorns have devised, the brain is every pony's source of magic, or so it seems. And because it's in the brain..." He waved his hoof at Dove. "It... transfers to the bloodstream?" Dove suggested meekly. "My point exactly." Striker clicked the button again. "This is the same brain after being exposed to the virus for a time of no more than three days." It was the same picture, only there was hardly any blue in it. The red veins still remained, having never altered, but what little blue remained hovered in little patches and wisps. "Notice anything, Marshal?" Dove bit her lip. "What does gray mean?" "Gray's nothing. It's just to represent flesh and bone to give you a better picture." "Where's the magic?" "I don't know, you tell me." Striker huffed. "Our initial thought was that the virus destroyed magic. But how? Magic is energy, which can never fade or be destroyed..." He looked up to her. Dove's ears were perked straight up. "...but it can change form." She could barely hear her own voice. "So, we ran another scan on a lower frequency." Striker reached for the button, hesitated, then hit it. Dove gulped. "What's yellow mean?" Striker eyed the image with contempt. "We don't know." He killed the projection, hiding the picture of the yellow, blotchy brain. "It's something we've never seen before. It's never been mentioned, documented, or discovered. But what we know, is that it's invasive. When exposed to what we know as normal magic, it wins." "Wins?" Something about didn't sound good. Striker nodded. "To simplify things, yellow and blue don't get along with one another. When exposed, they battle. And ninety-nine-point-eight percent of the time, yellow wins." Dove thought back to the orange pegasus that Bottle of Progress had contacted her about. "So, that makes the other point-two percent immune?" Striker shook his head. "Again, we aren't sure." Suddenly, he ducked down under his desk and came up with a small, metal case. "If you ever speak of what I'm about to show you, I will have you killed." Dove blinked. "E-excuse me, Admir—" "You heard me!" he snapped, slipping the latches on either side of the box. Dove watched in perfect attention as Striker lifted the lid and carefully extracted a vial of electric-blue liquid. "This, is a bonding agent. It was made by extracting magic from the blood of a pony that falls under the point-two percent anomaly. It's a magic-bearing slurry designed by Equestria' finest to stabilize magical energy." Dove could feel her mouth going dry again. "...So what does it do?" "It builds us an army." Striker returned the vial to the case. "In that vial is magic stronger than anypony knows. When that magic is mixed with the tainted magic that we find in the brain of the infected, then injected into a living host, we get a hybrid of both." His voice was starting to get a little zealous again. "Imagine a pony fully immune to sickness and disease, but with all the strength and speed of an infected pony! We could have an army with superpony strength. We could—" Dove stomped her hoof. "How can you be thinking of weaponizing this!?" she snapped. "Don't you see this could be used for a cure!? If the blood of those who show resistance can be used to... bond—" The word tasted sour on her tongue. "—ponies with the infection, it can be manipulated to cleanse the infection completely!" "It can not, Marshal! And even if it could, chances are we'd only be bringing back a vegetable. We've no idea if the infected hold onto their memories after they turn." "But what if they do!?" Striker boiled over, both forehooves slamming on the desk so hard that the lamp shook. "It doesn't matter!" Dove staggered back from the table. "Matter!?" she spat. "How can you risk so many, just to make a weapon!? We need a way to end this, not kill each other better! We actually have a chance to end this and you want to turn ponies into weapons!? You want to give them the virus!?" She staggered on her next few words. "You've gone senile!" "You are ill informed, Marshal. This will help us end this!" Striker's voice was low, and now, instead of anger, there was nothing in his eyes but cool intimidation. "Maybe you need some time to think." The door behind her burst open and two guards trotted in. "We'll speak of this later." Dove wasn't quite sure what she felt in her gut as she was escorted from the room. Her entire body tingled like she'd been swimming in icy water, and the cold, churning feeling in her gut made her want to keel over. Why had Striker even called upon her presence? Was it because he wanted her help? Because if so then he could forget it. Bonding ponies with the virus to create super soldiers, or whatever Striker wanted them to be? Nothing about that sounded good. She shivered. What would something like that do to a pony? * * * It was raining, though that put it nicely. Along with the rain came gale-force winds and hail the size of marbles. Moon sat against the wall in the back of the cab, watching Snowglobe gripe and wince at the clatter the hail made on the aluminum streamlining. "The side of this engine's going to look like a beach when this is over," she grumbled. Loco huffed and rolled his cigar to the corner of his mouth to talk. He'd chosen cherry-scented for the drive back. "It don't matter how she looks. All that matters is how she performs. So what's a few dents in an otherwise perfect body?" Snowglobe gave him an exasperated, open-mouthed look. "You know, I can never tell if you're talking about mares or trains." Loco just chuckled and blew a smoke ring at Snowglobe, who destroyed it with her forehoof. As hard as Moon tried to find something to wallow about, nothing came to mind. Their plan had gone perfectly. They'd arrived at the station just in the nick of time, gotten everypony on board, and made it out in one piece. No mass number of ponies died, nothing blew up, nothing went wrong... It was too perfect. So why didn't she feel good? It really didn't feel like a victory. It felt just like leaving Appleoosa. There was relief, but that was about it. Moon's hoof drifted up and pulled the band from her head, the one that Sage had given her as a sign of leadership. One hell of a leader she'd been. They were all dead now apart from a select few. Moon hissed and went to toss the headband, but she couldn't. Gritting her teeth, she looked at it for a long while, then slipped it back onto her head, hiding most of it with her mane. It was a reminder now. It represented her failure. She couldn't just throw it away. She was jolted back into things when the hiss of the airbrake filled the cabin. "Why're we stopping?" She forced herself to her hooves. "We can't be back to the station yet." Loco grunted. "That's cause we're not." Cloudstorm was nice enough to clarify. "Our lines have fallen back. The location you entered the city has been abandoned. All the civilians are being ordered to the docks." Moon blinked. "So... the ponies we left at the station will be here?" Her mind drifted to ponies like Range and Yew, that pink mare with her foal and Copper. "They'll be here, somewhere." The engine passed through a switching yard. Floodlights on either side of the tracks lit up anything and everything in the storm-induced darkness, REA ponies and civilians alike trotting this way and that as they tried to shelter from the weather. There were cheers and jeers directed at the engine, which Loco took in stride, blowing the horn a few times. "This storm's gonna be bad," Cloudstorm muttered. "Bad?" Moon raised an eyebrow as the hail all but put holes in the windscreen. "Isn't this already bad?" "This is nothing. Without pegasi controlling the weather, coastal cities get hit by the blunt of these storms when the clouds go rampant. We already got hit by one of these a month ago. I swear, the zombies even hid from it." A station was coming into view now, though the engine was at a crawl to allow ponies adequate time to clear the tracks. Countless REA ponies stood on the platform ahead, directing the masses towards a set of gates on the opposite side. Beyond the gates was a shipping yard and rows of monstrous warehouses that looked like they were meant to drydock battleships. Moon could see defenses being erected right before her very eyes. Steam shovels and unicorns were stacking slabs of concrete in place and rolling out chainlink fence, a small crew laying razorwire right behind them. "Turn on the radio," Cloudstorm commanded suddenly. Loco did so, and immediately a whole babble of voices erupted from the console. Cloudstorm only shook her head. "Enter the code." The stallion nodded and hit a few buttons, then cranked the knob around. A second later most of the chatter died out to be replaced by static. "Marshal, do you copy? This is Colonel Waffles and I can't make a move until I get your word." Cloudstorm snickered. "Waffles. I never could take him seriously. What sort of a parent names their foal 'Waffles'?" She laughed a second more, then cleared her throat and wiped the grin off her face. There was a sudden rush of static from the radio, accompanied by the faint voice of a mare. "Colonel, I don't like that worry in your voice. What's the situation?" "Ma'am, an estimated sixty-two percent of the city has been compromised. The area to cover is too large for our forces to handle!" "Well what is—" There was a crash and a grunt from over the airways. "Shit, watch it!" the mare's voice cut out for a moment before fading back. "Sorry Colonel. We're caught in one mother of a storm." "Marshal, if we want to have anything left we need to pull out and give up the city. If we try to defend any longer our forces will be scattered." It took the mare a full minute to reply, that time in which Moon was starting to think she had lost radio contact. "Fall back to retreat. Begin the evacuations—civilians first." "Yes... Marshal." The transmission ended. "Shit," Loco muttered. "Didn't think it'd actually happen." The engine screeched to a stop in the station. It was a dead end, stopping at a pair of buffers. "Well, this is where we get off." Snowglobe gave Loco a hard glare. "Well, what about our engine?" Moon had to agree. "Er, yeah, we came here with it. We'd like to leave with it." Cloudstorm shook her head as she looked between Moon and Snowglobe. "The entire city's being abandoned as we speak. You heard the order yourself. We're closing up shop and locking the doors behind us, shutting down all our power. If you try heading back, you'll get swarmed, and even if you make it to the gates, you won't be able to get them open." It took a moment for the overwhelming feeling of irritation to pass through Moon. Snowglobe seemed to go blank. She stood stock still and Moon made a worried face at the mare. "Snowglobe... you okay?" The little mare's eyes were red, teeth clenched as she turned to face Moon. "This is all your fault!" she bellowed, causing everypony in the cabin to jump. Moon dodged to the side with a surprised yelp as Snowglobe charged her. "Dusty died so we could get to this engine!" Snowglobe lowered her horn and fired a spell at Moon. Not eager to find out what it was, Moon ducked to the side, and it was a good thing too. The ball of green magic whizzed right past her ear and blasted a football-sized chunk of metal out of the wall behind her. "And now we're going to lose it because you couldn't keep your stupid mouth shut!" Cloudstorm tried to get a grip on Snowglobe as the mare charged moon, but the little unicorn wiggled out of the other's grasp and barreled directly at Moon. Without thinking, Moon levitated the fire extinguished from the wall behind her and swung it around. It sounded almost cartoonish, like a cooking pot being swung into somepony's face. Snowglobe's head snapped to the side and she hit the floor with a thud. "What in Celestia's name is wrong with you!?" Moon hollered, tossing the extinguisher away. "Dusty died because he got bit! It's time you stopped crying about him; the rest of us have!" Snowglobe turned her head to look up at Moon, her eyes a mixture of hurt and hate. A sharp cut adorned her brow, the same shape as the base of the fire extinguisher. Moon was sure she was going to hop back up, but to her surprise Snowglobe just curled up and sobbed. Brick glared at Moon. What's wrong with you? his eyes seemed to say, before he stopped down and gave Snowglobe's side a soft nuzzle. "I—" Moon stammered. "I... but she— I was angry and—" "Shit happens." Loco cut her off with a shake of his head and disconcerned snort. Snowglobe sobbed openly, and the worst part was that Moon knew that cry. It was the cry of a lost pony. She'd heard too much of it. "Make it end," she choked between breaths. "I can't take it anymore!" Moon shook her head as she looked down at the little mare curled against Brick. "This isn't going to end." She winced a little. Snowglobe's left eye had burst a blood vessel and lines of red were snaking towards her pupil. She'd swung harder than intended. "We should head for the gates." Now, if any, was a good time to change the topic. Cloudstorm nodded, started to get up, then took a glance out the window and shook her head. "Wait until the train empties out a bit. This is basically the equivalent to a back door, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't want to stand in the rain. Give it five more minutes. Right now, with so many ponies, you guys could get separated at the checkpoint." "Wait, they're checking for infection?" Moon asked with a little start. "That'll take way too long!" She recalled Cloudstorm's inspection just a few hours ago. "Nah, they've got scanners." "Scanners? I didn't think there was a way to check." The sergeant actually grinned a little. "There wasn't until about a week ago. Then some scientist hiding out on a boat with the rest of the Navy came up with this crazy hard spell that almost no unicorn could pull off, but it could tell if a pony was infected. So the ponies that could do the spell enchanted hundreds of inventory scanners with modified circuits that let you scan the eyeball... or something like that. Anyways, don't know how it really works, but I know it works. Damn thing's a lifesaver." * * * Willow was leaning on him, and for once, his mind wasn't ringing any alarm bells. Her head resting on his shoulder didn't burn like it should have. It just felt warm. It was raining cats and dogs outside, and although the train had reached the station and everypony was heading out onto the platform, Willow had refused to go out and stand in the rain. Now, since the train had mostly emptied, they'd been left with their own booth. Ember was the one who broke the silence. "So... are you two like..." She pointed one hoof at Sunny, and the other at Willow, then tapped them together with a little smirk. "No," said Sunny. "Yes," said Willow. The two gave each other surprised looks. "Yes," said Sunny, a little bit sarcastically, right as Willow said no. Ember smirked at the two of them. "It's complicated?" Willow huffed. "You could say that." She flicked Sunny with her tail and he jumped, his face going a soft shade of crimson. How'd she known he'd been staring at Ember's flank? Right now the mare was lying with the burnt side facing away from them, and it was a pretty good sight. She had a cutie mark of a flint stone and a strip of corrugated steel, a whole cluster of sparks darting out from one side as if she stone was in the process of being struck. Sunny realized Willow's eyes were on him, and he turned to meet them with a curious look. Her eyes... something wasn't right with them. It wasn't the fact that they were glowing; it was the fact that they shimmered. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. "Willow?" he asked softly, noting the fact that Ember was watching. "Nothing," she said in a choked voice. Turning away, she exhaled a shaky breath. "Excuse me for a moment, please." With a grunt, she pushed to her hooves, and much to Sunny's surprise, didn't kick anything. She nudged open the door to the room they were in and turned left into the narrow hall against the wall of the carriage. "Damnit." Sunny closed his eyes and sighed. The situation just wasn't fair. He couldn't make a choice. He'd always been indecisive. It would take hours just to decide on what to eat sometimes. It wasn't that he didn't want to handle the situation, but it was that he didn't know how to. Willow was, to put it simply, great. But so were his friends, so was Moon. "What's the issue?" Ember asked quietly. Sunny's ears perked and he opened his eyes, wondering if Willow was listening outside the door. Something told him she wasn't. "She... really likes me," he said with an awkward shift of his haunches. Ember looked genuinely surprised. "Willow... you? I'm not trying to bash you or anything, but you really just don't seem like her type." Her eyes confirmed this with a quick look up and down his body. "Like, at all." "I know... it's weird. It's a long story, but I've saved her life before... and she's saved mine more times than I can count now." "Well, do you like her?" His words stuck in his mouth. He thought for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth. "Yes." "Then what's the issue?" "It's complicated." "Really?" Ember's adopted tone stirred up an uncomfortable feeling in his gut. "Yes, it is," he said crossly. "Well then explain it." She turned towards him and crossed her forehooves, laying her head on them like a foal preparing for a good story. "It's complicated," he repeated dumbly as he attempted to glue together a quick brief in his head, something that wasn't too revealing. "You see... there's this other mare who really likes me. Her name's Moon." Ember grinned, a tiny line in her features. "And do you like her." Sunny grit his teeth. "Yes. B-but not in that way," he added hurriedly. "I mean, maybe a little, but I'm not quite sure where I'm standing there. I'm just worried about hurting her, both of them really. I can't just choose, and if I don't do anything, then I leave them both hanging... I really don't see any way to win." Ember nodded slowly. "Well, you're right. There's no way to win. You've just gotta make a choice, Sunny. I know this sounds cheesy and cliche, but you just have to follow your heart. But its just going to eat you up until you make a choice. Somepony's going to have to get the shaft, it just sucks that you're the one that has to make the choice." She rubbed her chin. "That is, unless, you don't really want anything to happen with any of them, then I guess they'll just have to deal with it." He shook his head then buried it in his forehooves. "I don't know what I want. I don't know what to do." "Then just give it some more time." Ember gave him a brittle laugh. "I spent most of my life at the top of the social pyramid. Trust me; I know about this kind of stuff." "I'm guessing that was before you got..." He stopped himself. "Willow, didn't tell you?" She shook her head. "Yeah, it was before I cooked myself. I don't know if you can tell, but I used to have the looks." Sunny chuckled. "Ember, you've still got them." She smirked at the swathe of crimson that ran under Sunny's eyes. "Thanks. But nopony wants a mare who only looks good from one side." "I know some would." The smirk only seemed to grow. "Are you getting at something?" "W-what, no!" "You are such a virgin." She snickered and closed her eyes before sitting up. Sunny sat up as well. "We should go check on Willow." Ember's grin shot from ear-to-ear. "You are! Sweet Celestia!" She cackled. "Survive the apocalypse and you're still a virgin? Sunny, you are one of a kind!" He felt close to nosebleed status as he made his way to the door and nudged it open. "So let me get this straight," Ember continued as they moved out into the hall. "You have two mares swooning over you, and somehow, somehow, you haven't had a chance to sleep with either of them?" "Yes," he said tensely. Willow wasn't in the hall, so he continued towards the exit. "Well then who do you want to lose it to?" He nearly tripped over his own hooves. "What— I don't... I don't know!" "Pro tip," Ember moved up beside him in the narrow hall. "You're not going to last long at all your first time, so get some foreplay in. Get her going before you dive or else only one of you gets a happy ending." "...Just... enough, okay? Let's just find Willow." Folding his ears and lowering his head, he rounded the little bend in the hallway that led to the door at the end. Willow had definitely come this way given the fact that the door was no longer on its hinges. It took a whole two seconds for his coat to become drenched completely once he'd stepped out into the rain. The station platform was mostly cleared out by now. On the far right, a short line of ponies were being ushered through a set of gates by two REA ponies in battle saddles. "Right there." Sunny's head whipped around as Ember pointed off a little to the left. It was a rather pathetic sight, one that made Sunny's heart trip and fall. Willow sat alone at a bench. It wouldn't have been all too abnormal without the rain soaking her mane flat to her head and the way she shivered. "I'll get us a spot in line," Ember said, giving him a nudge in her direction. "You talk to her." Sunny nodded absently, starting towards Willow. His stupid mouth had done it for him this time. Though it still shocked him that Willow might have actually considered them 'together'. Without a word, he sat down beside her, thanking Celestia that it had at least stopped hailing. "Hey..." he said after a moment. Willow didn't look up. "Hey... Is it time to go?" "Yeah." "Good." She pushed to her hooves and started trotting towards the gates. Frantically, Sunny followed, slipping as he tried to keep up. "Willow, I'm sorry!" She froze, then turned her head to look back at him. "It's okay, Sunny. I know you are." Somehow, that made him feel even worse. "I like you, Willow, I really do!" He said desperately as he moved up beside her. "But I just don't know what to do. I—" "Sunny!" she snapped, grabbing him in forehooves he felt could have easily crushed him. "It's okay, really." She gave him a wan smile. "I understand. I'm just getting a little ahead of myself. I've got to remember that you're weird, and I'm weird... It's weird..." She shook her head. "Look Sunny, forget about it. I just overreacted." Ember waved them over from near the front of the line. Sunny was rather glad of the excuse not to reply. The issue seemed to have resolved itself, sort of. Ember had gotten them a space right behind a bulky brown stallion carrying a sleeping mare across his back. How anypony could sleep in this weather was beyond Sunny. The REA mare and the greasy pony beside her all added up to create a very awkward group. Luckily, they were all just under the awning that sheltered the platform from rain, but it was still twilight-dark around the station. The ponies ahead were ushered through no problem. Ember stepped up to the gates first. A stallion wearing a bored expression levitated up a device that looked suspiciously like a price-checker. "Eyes open," he said drearily, flashing the flickering beam is Ember's eye a second later. The reader flashed red and let out a little buzz. Suddenly, the stallion stood a little straighter. "Ma'am, please—" "Scan her again," a uniformed mare said to the stallion with a roll of her eyes. "That's the ditzy one, remember?" Ember visibly relaxed as he scanned her again and the light on the side flashed green in accompany with a sharp beep. Sunny went next, and they waved him by. Sighing, he stopped on the other side for Willow. The one second wait between where the scanner shut off and the light flashed on was like limbo. Willow stepped forward, tossed her mane out of her eyes, then let the stallion scan her. He hit the trigger, and a second later the scanning beam shut off, but it was at least three seconds before the light came on. Red. "Scan her again," the mare said boredly. The stallion did so, and again the light blinked red. Sunny's mouth went dry as he watched Willow's eyes widen. "I'm not infected," she said firmly. The stallion rolled his eyes. "That's what they all say." Two ponies stepped in from either side, aiming battle saddles. "They'll lead you around back." Sunny had a pretty good idea that 'around back' was really just a wall with a lot of bullet holes in it. "She's not infected!" he blurted, stepping forward beside the stallion with the scanner. A third rifle was pointed at him from a pony in an impromptu watchtower. "The scanner doesn't lie," replied the stallion. Ember just stood back looking confused as the scene unfolded. "Bottle of progress did a whole bunch of tests on her. She registers as being infected but she's not any sort of carrier and she can't spread it." The stallion snorted as if he was hearing bogus. Sunny had to agree that, had they swapped positions, he probably would have acted the same way. He stood stiff, beating himself up in every way possible for forgetting that Willow might not pass the test. Now that he thought about it, it was clear that this stage would have been a huge problem. How had he missed it? The other line was still moving, but it was slowing down as the mare with the other scanner threw constant glances their way. "Take her around back," the stallion repeated. "I can explain!" Sunny instead, putting himself between the checker and Willow. "Forget this!" Willow snapped. "I'm going in." It happened in no more than a couple seconds, but it might as well have been an eternity. Willow took a step forward right as three different safeties disengaged. Sunny moved. He went for the closest target, which was a mare taking aim at Willow. With a powerful flap of his wings that stung up and down his spine, he carried himself into the air and powered all four hooves into her side. She yelped as he struck her and stumbled to the side. The two shotguns on her back discharged simultaneously and blasted a hole in the awning above as she overbalanced and fell to her side. Without missing a beat, Sunny was on the checker. Landing square on the stallion's back, he locked his hooves down on the single carbine rifle in the stallion's saddle and pulled the stallion to the left. The carbine went off and cut a line across the station wall before the cable connecting the trigger to the bit snapped. Willow just stood there looking dumbstruck. The REA mare who'd been ahead of them in line was racing back now, shouting something. Sunny yanked on the carbine and it came out of the saddle. Still holding the stallion, as much as it discomforted him, he shoved the barrel against the back of the pony's head and took the broken trigger wire with his other hoof. The mare whom he'd kicked was now back on her hooves, and the other stallion who had been watching the gate had his twin rifles on Sunny. More were coming, but they were fighting through a scattering crowd. "Surrender!" The stallion yelled, pointing his guns at Sunny. Sunny shoved the rifle a little more into the back of the checker's head, causing the pony to wince. "Don't move or I-I'll blow his head off!" Blood coursed through his body, laced with adrenaline and fear. If it came to it, he was afraid he could actually do it. He'd shot ponies before, but never at point blank. Never like this. The mare moved over to Willow, who wasn't doing much of anything, and kicked her to the ground. She pinned Willow with her forehooves then levitated a pistol from her belt, putting the barrel to the top of Willow's head. "Let him go, now!" "You shoot her, he dies!" The stallion in his grasp had locked up like a vice. Having your own rifle to the back of your head could do that, Sunny supposed. Willow's eyes were on him. He didn't dare look, but he could see it in his peripherals. Why wouldn't she move? She could probably break the mare's entire body with one hoof if she wanted to. Ember stood a ways away, eyes registering disbelief. As if things weren't hectic enough, a gray mare in REA barding charged right up to the edge of the scene and slid to a stop, levitating two, very intimidating pistols. "What's going on?" "Cloudstorm, this one's infected!" The unicorn mare spat, never taking her eyes off Sunny. "No she isn't!" he yelled back. "She's a hybrid!" He didn't exactly expect anypony to know what that meant, considering Willow had made it up herself, but the word sounded fancy enough to pass as something that could be legitimate. "The scanner failed her?" The gray mare came closer. "Twice," the checker said in a choked voice. Sunny gave him a jab with the barrel. The mare apparently known as Cloudstorm turned towards Sunny. "Nopony likes to die," she said grimly, then added: "and nopony likes to see ones they care about die. But there's nothing you can do for her. She's—" "No, she's not!" He had to be careful. His hoof was itching to cinch down on the wire and spray them all. "And I'm not in denial either. It's a medical thing that I can't explain, but she isn't contagious. Look at the bite on her leg. It's months old." Cloudstorm narrowed her eyes, then turned to look at Willow. She glared at the bite, eyes widening in surprise a little as she looked at the scarred flesh. "Are her eyes glowing?" "Yes," Willow said flatly. her tone suggested that there wasn't a gun pressed against the back of her head. "By the way, you got any sunglasses?" Cloudstorm took a step back. "Scan her. I want to see." Scanner pony cleared his throat and motioned to the scanner on his belt. Cloudstorm rolled her eyes and levitated the device. Holding it up to Willow's left eye, she hit the trigger, and like before, the light went red. She shook her head. "The scanner doesn't lie. I'm not taking any—" "Cloudst— I-I mean Sergeant!" A blue mare butted through the crowd, brown mane a complete, sopping mess. "Where do we—" She burst into the ring and looked around, her eyes falling on Sunny and going as round as shot glasses. "Sunny!?" He couldn't believe his eyes. For a second, he completely forgot about the situation as he stared into those blue eyes. "Moon?" She made a move forwards like she was going to hug him, but Cloudstorm stopped her with an outstretched hoof. "You know him?" Moon swallowed and nodded. "Y-yeah, I do. Her eyes found Willow and once again widened in surprise. "Both of them." Cloudstorm blinked, then looked to all three of them in turn. "The white one's been infected." A new pony moved in. It was Candy, though she wore a hood to hide her features. He'd kind of been wondering where she'd gotten to. He hadn't seen her since they'd left the Platinum Hoof. Surprisingly, Cotton was nowhere in sight. Moon shook her head. "No. She was bit like... three months ago-ish." Her eyes darted to her shotgun. "She used this one drug on herself. It was blue, that's all I know. But it made her a sort of mix. She's got zombie eyes and strength, but she's not actually one of them." Moon blinked, then scrunched her face. "Wow, that sounded really stupid." "How do you know she's not infectious?" Cloudstorm pressed, seeming to fight her own battle in her head. "Because I had sex with her," Candy said in a tiny voice, though it still silenced everypony. Willow rolled her eyes. "Way to go. Now they know." Cloudstorm did a double-take. She focussed on the mare, then mouthed the words Private Cane with raised brows. Candy shrank back and Sunny gave Cloudstorm a shooty look. The gray mare blinked, then snickered. "This is the most fucking insane day of my life." With one final chuckle, she straightened up and surveyed the scene once more. She took a deep breath, then shook her head. "Let the mare through." "Sergeant!" the mare pinning Willow yelled. "She's infected." Cloudstorm's eyes hardened. "You are speaking to an REA Sergeant, now that is an order!" "I refuse that order!" "What is your rank!?" Cloudstorm demanded in a forceful voice, stomping a hoof. "Sergeant, Sergeant." The air went silent again. Finally, cloudstorm spoke. "Release your hostage, Sergeant." "No." Somewhere, a pin dropped. Cloudstorm slumped a little bit. "You know what, fuck it." She turned one of her pistols, flipped it, and before anypony could even move, clogged the mare right between the eyes with the barrel. The mare's levitation died and the pistol on the back of Willow's head dropped to the ground with a clatter. Then everything went up. Sunny's hostage tried to pull free, and on instinct, Sunny pulled the wire. The carbine lit up and ripped open the back of the stallion's head before the recoil pulled it out of Sunny's awkward grasp and sent it firing wildly until the clip dried out. The only of the three left standing took aim at Cloudstorm and the mare ducked just in time to avoid being ventilated. However, the six REA ponies charging in from behind her took the brunt of it and four went down on top of each other. The other two broke off and took cover. Cloudstorm took careful aim with her other pistol and fired twice. One hit the stallion square in the chest, the other grazed his shoulder. He went down chewing the bit, guns chattering as they sprayed bullets every which way. Candy yelped and hit the concrete as one ricocheted off the awning and dug into her shoulder. Holding the wound and cursing like a sailor, she pulled out her pistol and fired the entire clip into the stallion's twitching form. All the while Willow just sat in the middle of it, staring at her hooves. "The gates are open!" Somepony shouted from the platform, and every REA eye that wasn't on Cloudstorm or the shooting turned towards the masses flooding for the now unguarded gate. "Freeze!" one of the stallions in the guard tower yelled. He gave the pony in the lead a whole quarter second to freeze before splattering him across the ground with a mounted machine gun. Somepony in the crowd yelled and fired a revolver at the guard who took a bullet between the eyes then slumped on the gun. Hooves still on the triggers, the weapon fired uselessly into the air, adding it's staccato to the already flustered environment. More REA ponies surged from somewhere, and instead of using guns, they wore riot armor and wielded batons. Like two waves hitting one another, civilian mixed with soldier, and the melee began. Sunny staggered over to Willow and pulled her to her hooves. "Come on!" He looked around for means of escape, though there seemed to be ponies everywhere now. Suddenly, Moon's levitation grabbed him by the mane and yanked him away from the gates, towards where they had been trying to go. He went with it, half-dragging Willow as she moved along beside him. He only caught glances of his friends as they ran. He saw Brick for a second, carrying Snowglobe and Candy. Ember pranced along a little ways off as she tried not to look guilty. Cloudstorm was shouting orders to REA ponies charging into the mess like she hadn't just started the entire firefight. Moon levitated her shotgun—a new, intimidating, drum-fed assault shotgun—ahead of her as she charged civilians aside. Really, zombies were easier. The Baltimare shipping yards had been converted to a safezone. Monstrous warehouses surrounded a small port that led inland. Sunny caught glimpses of steaming ships as they moved further in, no longer running but still moving at a swift trot. Every instinct in him screamed for him to greet Moon and Brick, but amongst the masses, he could barely even hear himself speak. Ponies shouted and shoved towards the pier, where skywagons were loading up civilians before heading south down the coastline. "Where are they evacuating ponies to?" he asked Cloudstorm. The mare's eyes were a little clouded, but when she blinked it was gone. "I have no idea. We don't have any safezones outside of Baltimare, at least anywhere near. The Navy has already confirmed that they don't have the rations to take on civilians. My best bet is they're setting up a camp somewhere. "Attention!" an intercom blared suddenly, a nasally stallion's voice washing over the shipyard. "Pegasus ponies are needed for evacuation. If you are a pegasus, you are required to report to the last warehouse southside of the docks and aid with evacuation attempts." Cloudstorm led them off to the side and to a small building. The door was locked, but she busted out the window with a hoof and unlocked it from the other side. It looked like the building had been some sort of filing office for incoming and outgoing freight. It was only two rooms, the smaller being lined with shelves loaded down with boxes of files. Once they were all in, and after what seemed like forever, Sunny was finally able to take in the situation. There was Willow, Ember, and Cloudstorm, though his eyes were stuck solely on his missing friends. Brick was laying Candy down, who was still cursing about the flesh wound on her shoulder. Snowglobe sat beside him holding her forehead. And there, sitting right in front of him, was Moon, her eyes wide and filled with what looked like disbelief. "I can't believe it's you," she muttered. Sunny grinned and scratched the back of his neck. "So, I guess you made it to Baltimare... not really much of a sight." Before he could move she was squeezing the air out of him. "Sunny, I thought you were dead!" she cried, nuzzling into his shoulder. Sunny grit his teeth and tried not to pull away. "And when I finally got to Baltimare the entire place was going down and I thought that was it! But you're here, and you're alive." Sunny couldn't help but notice Willow. She sat in the far corner, staring at her hooves. "It's great to see you made it!" Sunny replied. As awkward as the hug was, it was still really great to see Moon again. His eyes scanned the group again, and he realized somepony was missing. "Where's Dusty?" Moon only looked away. His eyes turned to Brick, who shook his head slowly. Snowglobe whimpered dryly and leaned against Brick. It was like getting hit with a sack of bricks. "Oh..." Sunny fell back on his haunches. "No way..." His mouth went dry and his vision fogged a bit. "He saved my life. He actually flew me to the hospital... How'd he—" "He went out a hero," Moon said sharply. "He saved us all." "Why'd you do that?" Sunny heard Ember whisper quietly to Cloudstorm. "Do what?" "You know, that. Save them. You might as well have shot yourself there for what the REA'll do to you for that." "...I just felt the impulse. I like these ponies more than I should. Moon came all this way just to find her friends. That's got to be worth something." To Sunny's surprise, Willow stood and made her way over to stand beside him. "Nice to see you again, Moon," she said tensely. Moon blinked, then grinned, though there was confusion below the gesture. "Great to see you too, Willow!" Before too much tension built up, he snapped it with a question. "So how'd you guys get here?" Moon sighed. "That's a long story, Sunny." * * * Dove held on for dear life as the skywagon all but turned upside down in the air. Rain battered ruthlessly at the windows and lighting flashed out over the ocean. If she didn't know any better, she would have said Striker had planned for her to get stuck in the storm on her return trip. An extra strong gust of wind swirled in from the left and and the entire wagon jerked, throwing Cloudstorm to the floor. "That's it!" Staggering back to her hooves, she made her way carefully to the partition. She kicked open the door to find the same stallion sitting there on the headset. His head turned as she entered. "Mashal, these fliers aren't going to make it back to base. Our best bet is find an area to land along the coastline!" Dove leaned up against the wall for support, then thought better of it and took hold of a kevlar strap hung from the ceiling. "Are there any safe places in Baltimare?" "The docks if anything. That's the evac point. But we have to—" Everything went completely silent as white light flashed through the windows. She smelt ozone and sharp, warm tingles ran up the tips of her hooves. The stallion gave a quick series of twitches, then dropped to the floor. It took her a second to comprehend what had happened. Lightning. She'd been on the weather team for six years. There was no mistaking the tingling in her ears and the burnt, almost clean scent in the air. She'd been saved by standing on the wooden floor panel, unlike the navigator, who'd been leaning on the metal shell, just like she'd been no more than seconds before. Her eyes darted to the plexiglass front, where the four inexperienced fliers were still battling with the storm, saved by the leather harnesses. Dove felt a lightness in her gut, the kind she normally felt when she flew in for a landing a little too fast. They were falling. Worst still, smoke was filling the cabin from the very wooden panel that had saved her life. Dove moved to the side and lifted the panel, waving away the smoke to reveal the damage. There was nothing left of the spark battery and magical talisman system. Acrid smoke rose from charred and twisted wires that ran to the battery, little licks of flame escaping the power source as the plastic label melted away. This wasn't just a storm. This was a full-fledged electrical storm. The skywagon might as well have been a brick. No four-pegasus team could pull the weight of this wagon without magical help. She slammed the panel back down and staggered to the door, struggling with the latch for a second before realizing it was tied into the electric systems. Ahead, barely visible through the rain, the lead pegasus disconnected himself from the harness and disappeared into the gray. His harness snapped back and tangled with the pony behind where he'd been. Straps wrapped around the puller's wings and caught his legs. He struggled for a second, then the wind threw him up against the front of the skywagon. Dove made a grab for the kevlar strap on the roof, but fell short and ended up landing on her face as the skywagon went into a spin. Navigational papers fluttered about, turning the small cabin into a blizzard, the navigator's body thumping around wildly as Dove held on to the only surface she could. What if she were to die now? Dove started running through thoughts of who would take her place. Nopony knew her plans and her goals, because she hadn't trusted anypony enough to share them. What about Striker? He would be an ultimate powerhouse if she was out of the ring. What they'd just discussed today—he was going to try to turn ponies into weapons. Maybe he'd called her out and told her his plan, knowing very well her puller team would crash in the storm. Maybe he wanted her out of the way! It was the last thought that settled in her mind. She couldn't die, and Celestia damn her if she did. The wagon jerked as it returned to the correct angle; somehow it had stopped spinning. Dove picked herself up off the floor, then immediately hurled her food rations. Staggering, coughing, she made her way to the windscreen. They were coming in for a landing... The street ahead was a dark river walled off on either side by giant buildings. Somehow, they'd made it over Baltimare. Two pullers remained in the wagon harness; the one that was tangled had been disconnected. They were doing their best to bring the wagon down, but it was still going to be a hard landing with the rate they were falling. The street wasn't empty, either. Ponies ran back and forth, screaming, shooting, crying. Amongst them were her ponies in armor, shooting just about anything that moved. Upturned wagons signified there had once been a line they had been holding, but there was no such line now. "Sweet Celestia." Dove braced herself as the wagon hit the asphalt. Immediately, her legs buckled and she slammed to the wagon floor. Knocked free of her breath, she writhed and squirmed, clutching her chest with a forehoof as she tried to draw breath. The wagon screeched and scraped down the road, trailing sparks despite the wetness of the asphalt. The front end ploughed through the remnants of the wagon barrier, smashing out the windscreen in the process, before veering off to the side. The bottom of the wagon caught a bump in the road and in one swift motion, slammed over on its side. Dove landed on the battered navigator in a stroke of luck. She was on her hooves before the wagon had even come to a complete stop. Panting, she staggered out through the broken windscreen, the rain soaking her down to the core in less than a second. Darting to the pullers, she tried to help the lead one out of his harness. The one behind him hadn't been so lucky. Dove refused to look at it, but from what her peripherals picked up she was pretty sure he'd been run over by the wagon. "T-thanks, M-m-m-marshal," the stallion quivered, staggering to his hooves. "Get in the air!" Dove commanded. She walked around in a little circle, trying to get a hold on her bearings. The power had been cut to this portion of the city, leaving everything a disorienting mess. Back down the street where they'd landed, a series of gigantic spotlights cast their beams up into the rain. Somepony had been using their heads when they thought of marking the safezone. Still a bit dazed from the landing, Dove took to the air, hovering a little off the ground. She knew the right choice was to make a beeline for the safezone four blocks back, but she just couldn't bring herself to go. Below her, ponies swarmed every which way, zombies amongst them, even a few changelings. Her eyes widened and settled on one of the black, insect-like creatures. "Not you guys too!" It outright ignored her and went back to tearing apart a hopefully-dead stallion. She began to fly backwards, slowly at first, but rapidly gaining speed. There was nothing she could do this far forward. The situation was too far gone. "Form a line!" Dove's eyes darted to bifocaled stallion loaded down with an REA radio. He looked like he belonged behind a desk, not standing amidst a flooded street trying to direct troops. "Come on!" he beckoned frantically to a group of soldiers. "We have to help as many civilians as we can!" "Forget it!" one yelled back. "This sector's a lost cause. Fall back and save yourself." Despite the icy rain, Dawn's blood began to boil. She grit her teeth and folded her wings, dropping down to street level. Her timing was perfect to intercept the group of four running for the spotlights. "What do you think you're doing!" Her voice was cold and scornful, resembling a stern mother who had just found their foal drawing on the wall. "Saving my ass, now get out of my way!" The bulky red mare tried to push past, but Dove positioned herself in front of the mare and delivered a staggering headbutt. "How about you focus on why you became a soldier of my army!" "Look, I don't give a rat's ass about—" A flash of lighting brought Dove's features into proportion, and immediately the mare's expression went slack. "Er, M-marshal. What are you doing here!?" Dove shoved the mare away. "Shut your mouth and help rally troops to form a retreat that's actually going to make it to the docks!" She paused for a second. "And when in the name of Celestia did changelings come into play!?" "A few hours ago." The red mare was all business, and her companions seemed to be sticking by. "Nopony's sure, but they came up from the sewers and subways and brought the rest of the infected with them. It's why we lost the city." Dove snarled and turned away. Her presence was being recognized now, even by the civilians. There was a whole lot less screaming, and even a tiny sense of order as her forces gathered into broken ranks. "Form a line!" The street was a perfect choke point. There weren't any infected upon them yet, but the trainwreck of zombies and ponies was barreling in their direction wasn't far off. Those fleeing the infected were running as fast as their legs could take them, but the zombies were certainly faster. It was like watching the surf as one large wave washed over the smaller wave ahead of it. There was a clear line where survivors would be overrun and taken to the ground, one after the next. "Ready!" Dove yelled. There were at least twenty ponies in the line now—a greater number than she had expected. Ponies stampeded past the line of soldiers and to safety. Dove stood firm, taking hit after hit as ponies shouldered past her. An orange stallion dropped to the ground beside her and spread the legs on a machine gun, lining up. One zombie appeared in the crowd, but was blasted a second later. Ponies screamed and scattered, dodging the body like the plague. It wasn't another second before another appeared amongst the masses, snapping at a mare's neck. Down it went. Two more. Three. Four. There were still civilians—plenty of them. But there was no way anypony could sort them out by this point. Dove gave the order. Twenty machine guns lit up the gloom. * * * Storytime was something else. Neither side could believe the other side's story. Willow had simply listened while Sunny and Candy told of the whole ordeal. Cloudstorm listened in the entire time, her jaw steadily lowering at the exchange. At the mention of the passage through Canterlot, she looked like she was ready to fall over. Willow had been impressed herself. Thankfully, Sunny had left out Willow's experience in Bottle of Progress. Then the quiet sniffling had come, primarily from Moon. Then the hugging... then awkward cuddling between Moon and Sunny. Willow couldn't bring herself to watch. They smiled, they laughed, even Brick hosted a smile. She hadn't said much to Brick. He'd sat next to her, supporting her weight on his firm shoulder. The idea that she had hardly even thought about him in their time apart crossed her mind guiltily more than once. She'd removed herself from the building and hardly an eye had turned. Willow told herself it was to find the ponies Moon had said were with them, but really she just needed to be away. Thinking she could be with Sunny was a joke. All along, she knew she was simply biding her time until the two reunited, but some, deep down and guilty part of her had wished that the blue mare wouldn't return. It was a dirty, malicious thought, and as much as Willow tried to beat it out of her mind, it just wouldn't leave. What's wrong with you? Moon is your friend, and here you are wishing her dead, you sick, disgusting excuse for a mare! The rain soaked her coat and chilled her to the bones, glued her red mane to her neck and her tail primarily to the back of one leg. Anypony that was standing in her way either moved when they saw her coming or got butted aside. Something about the mare's stride seemed to radiate her internal strife and churning anger. She made sure to keep her eyes down. Ponies didn't need to see a mare with glowing eyes right now—it would cause a panic. It was quite surprising how full the docks could really get. The entire yard was huge, but in contrast to the population of Baltimare, it might have well have been a pinhead. Wagons were already running evacuations, shipping ponies off to temporary bases along the coast. The lines were massive, and more ponies were entering the temporary stronghold than could she shipped out. It was fairly obvious that things would be getting nasty soon. Commotion from a distant gate brought her around. Willow shook the destructive thoughts from her mind as she turned towards the sound. The sound was one she'd heard too many times not to know: chaos, pain and fear and panic all mashed together into a big ball of chaos. So why were her hooves carrying her towards the mess? As she approached, ponies flooded through the gate like water. The REA were doing little to hold them back as the single mare with the scanner tried to check every one of them. Unarmed and with an intolerant glint in her eye, Willow made her way up to struggle. One guard on the scaffolding above turned his rifle on her, but she gave him a dismissive glance and, after a brief glare, he turned back to watching the scuffle, no doubt waiting to blow out the brains of any unruly pony. "What're they so afraid of?" The voice rang out beside Willow, and she jumped. The words seemed more for the purpose of mockery than to serve as an actual question. Turning, her eyes fell upon a tall, dark blue stallion, his long, orange mane tied to his neck with a few strands of nylon rope. He wore a raincoat and hat. His glasses weren't exactly bottles, but they were thick enough to prove the pony had less than stellar eyesight. Willow shook her head and proceeded with the stallion to the fence to the right of the gate. A green mare some ways down the fence line gave a warning wave in their direction, pointing first towards the fence, then to the electrical wires she was soldering to the posts. "Not sure. It might just be the crowd mentality." She shook her head and peered out amongst the buildings, hoping for the stallion's own sake that he wouldn't say anything stupid. It was hard to see through the rain, but she could make out the muzzle flash. It was close. "The city's finally falling," the stallion beside her stated. "It's not going to be long before they reach this point." His voice was scratchy, and high, the kind of voice she associated with a geeky mathematician. "How do you know?" Watching the little bursts of light in the distance was as hypnotizing as watching light rain fall from the sky. They also seemed to be moving closer. "I'm a situational analyst." He scoffed, then shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I was. Twenty-twenty foresight. Told my friend the day of his wedding he was going to catch his wife with another stallion, and guess what." A brittle chuckle escaped his mouth as he looked on, then tossed a sideways glance to Willow. "There's only so much they can do to protect this area. You think electric fences and a few guns are going to stop an entire city of zombies?" Willow shook her head. "My point is made." Suddenly, the pony lowered his head and brought it closer. Willow readied to clobber him. "I want your help." "Why?" Her question was brief and cold. "Because I don't want to die," he returned with an irritable hitch. "And I'm guessing you don't want to either." She was all ears. If he knew something, then she wanted to know it. Something about the stallion pulled at her coat, but he had a look in his eye that told her he knew something; or at least he thought he did. "Clarify a bit. I'm not going to agree to help you unless I know what I'm helping you with." A thin smile crossed his face. "I knew you'd say that." His horn flared for a second, then he was all business. "How many ponies do you think are here?" he asked suddenly. "I don't know... too many to count." "Approximately fifteen thousand, and counting." His horn flashed again, lighting his blue, almost silver eyes. "And how many do you think have been evacuated so far?" Willow growled. "I don't know." He pressed on. "A thousand in the past two hours." He looked nervous now, both ears folding flat to his head. "This stronghold is not going to last an entire day. I'll give it a couple more hours at best, but the REA can't hold this position. Once the flying biters come the REA's attention is going to be divided between ground and air, then it's all going downhill. Let's be generous and say we last another four hours here. That's two thousand ponies evacuated. That still leaves thirteen thousand here. What do you think the chances are of you and all your friends, getting on a skywagon, and the same one at that?" The anger started in her belly and boiled right up her throat. "How do you know about my friends?" She shoved her muzzle towards his, one powerful hoof clasping in the back of his rainjacket and lifting his forelegs off the ground. "I've been watching you since you entered the gate," he said desperately, struggling as his own jacket choked him. "You had guns, experience, and most importantly, an REA officer who's fond of you." Grudgingly, Willow released him. "And?" "And I needed your help," he gruffed. "Soon... very soon now, REA Marshal Dove is going to have to give the order to pull her troops from defending this place. It's going to be fast, and it's going to leave the civilians here in more trouble than you could know. You see, from her perspective, the REA must live to fight another day. If they all die there, there's nothing more she can do for Equestria. Pulling out is a sacrifice she must make. When that happens, everypony left here will die. We need to be out of here before that happens." As much as it hurt her to admit it, he was probably right. There was no way everypony was going to be getting out of here. Her confliction must have showed in her eyes, because the stallion gave her a stern look. "Nopony's ever survived in this world by being the hero! Either we live and they die, or we all die together. I don't know about you, but I want to live. And don't you go around telling ponies about this; if you do that it'll only accelerate the degradation of what little order is left." She gave him the dirtiest of dirty looks, but nodded. "I really hate it, but you're right." For a moment she wondered if he were filling her head with nonsense, but so far, every word from his mouth was backed by the current situation. "...When do we leave?" "The sooner the better. We need to commandeer a skywagon. Your REA friend can help with that. She's high enough rank that she should be able to snatch you one with some fancy words. Where we go from there is up to you. But..." Willow glared. "But?" "But you have to take me with you, as in, keep me around once you've landed. You have guns, and you're not the REA. I'm not a fighter, and I never will be. Once I leave the city's protection I'm as good as dead. As much as I hate to say it, I need ponies to protect me." And he did. Willow had always considered herself a good eye reader, and behind those thick glasses of his, he was scared and desperate, looking for a way out. An announcement blasted from the series of loudspeakers erected across the stronghold. "All available forces are requested at the east gate immediately. Compromise is a threat!" "Come on," Willow nodded off towards where she'd left her companions. "They're going to want to hear this." It was a fast walk back to the storage building where she had left her friends. There were a lot more ponies there now, though the room they'd reserved as a group was still left only to them. Willow barged through the door without an ounce of warning. Immediately, all conversation ceased as Willow stopped halfway through the doorway, the bespectacled stallion beside her. They'd probably been talking about her... She shook the thought away before it could tick her off, then spotted five more ponies who hadn't been there before. There was Sage and Jade, still connected at the hip it seemed, Range sat in the corner nursing his tweaked leg while Altic acted disconcerned about it, and Yew stood beside him, having jumped to her hooves at Willow's entry. There was one more: a stallion with a reddish brown coat she remembered by the name of Copper. He'd been one of the REA pegasi from Appleoosa. It was a full crowd. "We found the others," Moon stated, a hint of curiosity in her voice as she eyed Willow. "Where'd you go?" "We've got to get going." Willow strode to the center of the room and beckoned the stallion to follow her. Sunny blinked at her. With a bit of effort, he pulled away from Moon and rolled to his hooves. "What're you talking about?" Willow nodded towards the blue stallion. "Tell them." Blinking at the prospect of standing before a bunch of ponies, blue stallion trotted forward to the center of the room. "Hello strangers," he said in a high voice that lacked much of the bravado he had shown earlier with Willow. "I'm Foresight." Willow rolled her eyes at him. "There is no way that's your actual name." He glared right back. "No, it's not, but I like it and my real name sucks." Clearing his throat he sat down and adjusted his glasses. It was interesting watching everypony's faces as Foresight told them the same thing he'd told Willow. "So," he concluded, adjusting his glasses for the fortieth time. "We need to leave before that happens. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to make it out of here." "Well shit," Loco muttered, giving Cloudstorm a sideways look. "Think that's true?" The REA mare nodded slowly. "Absolutely. It's indirectly written in every page of the rulebook... I'd do the same thing if I were in Dove's position. I wouldn't blame her for a second. What good is it if the entirety of the REA is wiped out trying to save an extra thousand civilians?" "I'm getting tired of all this 'civilian' talk," Moon growled. "We are civilians. We're talking about them as if they're... others." "Moon," Sunny interjected sheepishly. "I think civilian is a broad term for 'ponies who can't protect themselves'. To be fair, I don't think we fall under that category." "Civilians are dead weight," Cloudstorm stated. "Yes, I know they're ponies just like us... but think about it. There's no room in this world for ponies who don't know how to protect themselves. It was a mistake trying to protect them in the first place. A city where only ten percent can fight was never meant to be." She received more than one disgusted stare. "Says the mare who just shot another REA officer!" Cotton shot back. Candy gave the wounded mare an angry glare. "Do you think I feel good about that!?" Cloudstorm snapped, bearing down on the mare. "No matter what, somepony was going to die there. I had to make a choice!" "Excuse me," Foresight tried to interject, his voice severely lacking any sort of power. "But we need to go... now." "Now!" Willow enforced, stomping her hoof and accidentally putting it right through the floor. The clamour stopped as Willow stumbled and tried to pull her hoof out of the floor. "Anyways, leaving," Foresight stated dejectedly. "Good luck getting a skywagon," Sunny added grudgingly. "See the line by any chance? It's like a water park on saturday afternoon." Foresight chuckled and turned towards Cloudstorm. "That's where you come in." The REA mare froze. "What?" "I need you to commandeer us a skywagon." His eyes flicked out across the group. "Actually, make that two." "And how exactly do you expect me to do that?" "You're a Sergeant, aren't you?" "Not after today." Foresight waved a hoof at her. "But you've still got the name. All you need to do is get us to the front. Say we're ponies of utmost importance." "No, I'm not doing it." Cloudstorm sat back and crossed her forehooves. "Why do you ponies think I'm on your side? I'm with the REA? Why would I ditch them just to befriend a bunch of gun-toting survivors?" Sixteen pairs of eyes fell on her, some skeptical, but most expectant and demanding. Moon was actually grinning a little. "No," Cloudstorm repeated. "No way." * * * "I can't believe I'm doing this." Cloudstorm had taken some convincing, and for a while after that she'd stomped in a circle and cursed everything but Celestia herself. Sunny strode beside her now, trying to walk as firmly and as official-looking as possible. His wings, while utterly useless, served as an almost carefree pass anywhere in the REA; everypony who could fly was commissioned for skywagon crews and given some sort of a rank. Copper took up the sergeant's left. With as much authority as her rank allowed, Cloudstorm stalked up to the row of soldiers guarding the REA access to the primary evacuation platform. "I've got VIPs here," she stated in a loud voice. "Specials for the marshal herself, requested immediately." The dozen or so guards exclaimed looks, eyes scanning over Cloudstorm and the group of sixteen civilians with her. A moment later, all eyes fell on one pony with a little better dress code than the rest of them. She was a short mare, her crimson mane tied back in a bun as she positively glared at anything and everything. "What if they don't let us through?" Sunny muttered under his breath. Willow's voice came from behind him. "Out of everypony I've ever seen in the REA, this looks like the only one that is resistant to both bribes and blowjobs." Cloudstorm folded her ears and snickered, then recovered a second later. "We need to get to the platform," she stated formally, coming to a stop just before the much shorter mare, who—much to her discontent, so it seemed—was forced to look up at Cloudstorm. "And do you have clearance?" the mare demanded, striking down any chances of simplicity. "Yeah!" Cloudstorm snapped back immediately, looming over the mare. "The Marshal wants them aboard and out of here, pronto! Haven't you been listening to the radio? These are VIPs!" "They're a bunch of civilians. What would the marshal want with them?" Suddenly, her eyes fell on Sunny, narrowing for a second before widening in shock. "I-is that him?" Cloudstorm blinked and glanced to Sunny. "Uh... Yeah, yeah, of course it's him. Who else do you think it is?" Sunny tried not to act too surprised as the mare dutifully stood aside and ushered them through. "Am I who?" he asked Cloudstorm once they were out of earshot. "No idea, but it got us through." Sunny would have continued to balk over the occurrence had the full size of the operation not been revealed just then. They'd entered a through a set of doors onto a covered platform that had once been used for loading and unloading barges. The massive, concrete platform was completely crowded with ponies being directed into neat lines by uniformed officers. Every moment or so, a skywagon would swoop in from over the water and land upon the platform. It was hardly a moment before ponies flooded aboard and it was off again. There were ships too, though all had already left the docks and could be seen sailing away to the north as they battled the seas. "How do you suppose we gain access to two skywagons?" the nerdy blue stallion muttered, pushing up beside Cloudstorm. "With a group of this size, we're going to need two, unless you want to leave five ponies behind and still risk overloading the wagon." He received a glare from the entire group for his statement, though held strong. "He's right," Willow added quickly. "We need two." All eyes turned to Cloudstorm. The sergeant glowered and grit her teeth. "Oh what the hay—I've already signed my resignation papers and reserved a spot in line for the death penalty because you lot had to go and get me feeling sentimental." She flicked her tail and waved a hoof backwards. "You wait here. I'll get us two. Sunny and the red one, come with me." She started off at a brisk pace without waiting for an answer, leaving Sunny and Copper nothing else to do but follow. Cloudstorm made a beeline right for the closest skywagon which was just in the process of loading. Again, she put on her authoritative voice. "For transport of VIPs at the marshal's request I'm going to have to commandeer the service of this skywagon and crew." Every head turned at the words. Those boarding the wagon were immediately stopped and those already seated were hauled off indignantly. Not a single question was asked as Cloudstorm pointed to the small group of ponies at the edge of the dock. If anything, the wagon pullers looked relieved. Already they were showing early signs of exhaustion from the overwork. "We're not just stealing wagons," Copper whispered in Sunny's ear, "we're going to be stealing eight pegasi as well. What the hay are we supposed to do once we get in the air? They're going to know something's up." Sunny shook his head. This was too much too fast. He was tired of running and planning and plotting and lying. There'd been too much of it in the past few days. It was so bad he'd lost count. Cloudstorm acquired the second wagon as easy to the first, and it wasn't more than five minutes later she returned to the group with two skywagons in tow looking guiltily smug. "That went way easier than I expected it to," Foresight commented with an impressed waggle of one eyebrow. "Now we simply board the wagons and be to the air!" They were drawing the eyes of the crowd. Sunny glanced around skittishly as it seemed every eye was on him and the others. "Why do they get to go first!?" somepony yelled amongst the crowd, causing a whole wave of jeers and prying questions. The REA ponies were smart not to reply 'because they're important'. The crowd was ignored as a whole, but the lines were getting messier and louder by the moment. "I say we leave now," Sunny chirped, trotting for the left wagon. "Hold it, hold it." Cloudstorm rubbed her head, then took a count of heads. "That's sixteen plus myself. These wagons comfortably seat ten and there needs to be somepony with experience to work with the flight crew. Candy stepped forward immediately. "I'll take one if you take the other." "Good deal." Cloudstorm waved towards the wagons. "Eight ponies on one and nine on another. I'll be on the left—Cane take's the other wagon." The entire operation went more smoothly than Sunny would have thought possible. He, Willow, Brick, Moon, Ember, Cloudstorm, Snowglobe, and Foresight took the one on the left, while Candy, Cotton, Loco, Range, Jade, Sage, Yew, Altic and Copper all ended up on the right. "I can't believe it was that easy. Three's no way our luck's this good," Sunny said with a worried frown. "It's crazy how many ponies we've met since this thing started," Willow said to Sunny, driving her elbow into his side. He winced and gave her a dry look, then nodded. "We've been a long ways." "You guys had it easy leaving Appleoosa," Moon said, plopping down on the other side of Sunny. Willow grit her teeth. "And you didn't have to deal with Bottle of Progress." Moon just rolled her eyes. "It couldn't have been that bad. I mean, at least it was zombie-free." "At least," Willow said through her teeth. Sunny gave Moon a frantic look and shook his head. She cocked a brow at him, but shrugged, and much to his disdain, leaned against him casually. Biting his lip, Sunny turned back towards Willow. "Can you believe we got off this easy for once?" Cloudstorm waved a gesture to Candy then said something indistinct into an intercom, and a moment later the wagon jolted forward. Sunny watched the agonized faces of the ponies in line for evacuation, guilt settling in his belly like a lead weight. "It was either them or us," Foresight said somberly, catching the look in Sunny's eye. "I'm not proud of it either." Sunny nodded. "I guess." As the skywagon took to the turbulent air and turned to head off down the coast, keeping just above sea level, his mind wandered back to the REA's willingness to relinquish a skywagon after seeing him. 'Is that him?' they'd asked. Exactly who had they thought he was, and why was it important? 


	20. Chapter 20

t care if you have to use a slingshot to shoot bullet casings, buy me some more time!What are you standing around here for!? Get out of my sight, now! You have work to do!West gate, report!Marshal, we are not good over here!Generators are flooded and the electric fence is down. Theres gonna fall down if one more of these bastards tries to climb it. Were gonna have to start throwing water balloons!North gate, check east gate, Marshal!Perimeter?We might as well be using sandbags to hold back the ocean!They

**Dove fell back in her chair, eyes glazing over as the sound of hail pounding the roof faded away. She turned her head this way and that until she found the window. Rain poured down it in a solid sheet, though there was no missing the hundreds of ponies milling about in the shipping yard, waiting for a skywagon they would never get. **

**screamed the radio. **

**If she waited any longer, she wasn**Commence Shattered Hope. Light your fires and take to the skies. Lethal force authorized towards civilian the cashier declared. t forget about the sales tax!Damnit!I am sick and tired of losing!t go too was that it was too heavy to throw.

Holding back a scream of irritation, she began to pace the room, hooves crunching on broken glass. Off in the distance, near the gates, fires lit one by one until they were towering infernos or orange and white light that battled the pounding rain. The fire would have to hold the zombies back long enough to get to the wagons.

She needed time to herself, time where she could just be herself and not have to be in charge of everything. But that wasnt be possible here, confirmed by a white mare who had just butted open the door.

**When this was over, she would never make another decision in her life. ll search for new grounds to establish home base.**Marshal?Pardon me, but we

**It was obvious the mare was having a hard time biting her tongue, but nopony spoke against the marshal. She folded her ears and looked like she was going to protest, then turned away. Seeming to change her mind again halfway out the door, she turned back to Dove. ll die.**Do you think I don** Dove snapped, looming over the poor mare. d like to protect everypony, I cand save everypony in Equestria if I could, but I can **

**For the first time in what seemed like forever, the sun was out. For the better part of the storm, Sunny had slept. He couldnd gotten to see the sunrise; that compared with the fact that he was seeing it from the air, the mist of the storm still hovering in the atmosphere and casting the most beautiful shades of pink and gold across the land, and the quietness of it all led him to think that this was one of the most amazing mornings he had ever seen. **

**It was kind of sad that it took a world-scale apocalypse to make you really appreciate a sunrise. **

**Sunnyt said a word. Moon and Cloudstorm were also up and sharing a murmured conversation at the very front of the skywagon. **

**Cloudstorm replied in a hushed tone. She pointed to an indistinguishable spot on a map rolled out over the navigation console. s got a wall with barbed wire and everything and a courtyard large enough to land and take off again.**How do you know?I sent my daughter there.t help but smirk as he watched MoonYou? Daughter?Yeah, yeah, I know. Is beside the point. I know for a fact that the entire school was on break when things went down, so it should be empty and all the gates should be locked. If nopony else had the same idea Is worth a fly-over. We need to find a place to let the pullers do you know it was empty?Can** With a dismissive flick of her tail, she silenced Moon**It was parent week. All the little baddies were home with mom and dad. Well... most of of

**Cloudstorm interrupted, ll punch your nose into your brain. If it comes to zombies, there **

**Sunny gave Willow a look, cocking a brow. Willow returned his look and shrugged. Sunny shrugged back. **

**He wasnd seen of her, she was trustworthy. Moon obviously seemed to think the same as she slowly shut her mouth, though her eyes remained a narrowed. **

**ll tell the fliers to change course,t much room for it in the cabin, but he made do. **

**Willow said with a light sigh and an almost cruel chuckle. **

**re we just going to do this on our own?**None of us have had anything to eat for at least a day. Already, we

**Sunny shook his head slowly as the two spoke. s something bigger going on here. When the guards let us through the gate, that mare said . They Willow winced at the name. m immune. What if they knew something we didn **

**Moon patted his shoulder, much to the pegasus**Sunny. Donre done with imagine if we could fix it!Imagine if we could put it back!We can never put it back!You don** It was Willow who spoke up, silencing Sunny before he could even speak. She squared up to Moon. **

**Moon opened her mouth, but didns eyes in semi-willing submission. **

**ll be landing soon,d been awake had been listening, and the silence that followed could have driven a pony mad. **

**Happyhorn was void of zombies, at least from first glance. More than a few milled around outside the gates, rotting bodies amongst them, yet nothing stirred within the contained courtyard. **

**Really, it reminded Moon of a school. The only thing that said otherwise was the stone wall surrounding the entire slew of buildings. Coiled razorwire spanned the top of the wall, and below it; happy depictions of smiling ponies prancing over rolling hills of grass and trees covered the worn stone, faded, but by no means any less colorful. Looking at the wall was comical on its own, though the longer she stared the more disturbing it seemed to get. **

**Stepping from the open door of the skywagon, Moon stretched each leg in turn, and just for safety****without barbed wire**Hey, I found us a water source!Might have to boil it though...Seems like a nice little ,Perfect for all the little rejects of society.s eyes were dark as she stared at the statue. s horn. It was pretty cool. Created this sort of abstract feel to the , uh... everypony!Okay, there

**Twenty five? **

**Moon looked out over the crowd of ponies gathered around the orange pegasus. Sweet Celestia, he was right, and the scariest part was that she knew all but the eight pegasi that had flown the wagons. **

**On the topic of those eight pegasi, they were still unhooking themselves from the wagons, and from the varying looks of confusion upon the ponies**You better go talk to them, and fast. They probably thought they were flying an REA mission.I** Cloudstorm pawed at the ground for a moment before standing, giving herself a quick stretch. theys nothing anypony hates more than being taken from your family and made to fly a wagon.**Right.t help but worry. She remembered when it had only been the six of them. The larger the group, the bigger the hoofprint. And the bigger the hoofprint...

**Moon spun, switching off the safety on her weapon with an involuntarily bit of focussed magic and angling it towards the voice. **

**Snowglobe stepped backwards, holding a hoof in front of her face. re pointing that thing!**Yeah...?s eyes. The half-ring on her brow had since scabbed over, but it was still a painful reminder if their little clash on the train.

**Sighing, Snowglobe sat back on her haunches and rubbed the spot on her head with a little wince. t the best way to bring me back to reality, but it worked for the time being.**I grabbed the closest thing I could... Anyways, I know I was brash about handling it. I** Gritting her teeth, Moon turned away and began to pace around the fountain. **

**s nothing you could have done.**They were griffons! How could any of us have been prepared for griffons!? Zombie things It lose anypony you cared thatm thankful for.t even begin to imagine how DustyAlright ponies. Food!Stick with a buddy and dont know if this place is empty or not.t time to be sharing thoughts with the gray mare anyways.

d it go?Seemed a little worried the REA would come after us, but apart from that, they dont die. Two of them are REA and really havenm not really sure, but I hope they donre down one puller for each 

**Cloudstorm**Leave?I saw what you did for my friends, Cloudstorm. Why

**The mare only shook her head. t expecting it to turn into a firefight. After everypony started shooting, I knew that my times as Sergeant were basically over. And hey, I Cloudstorm paused, bobbing her head slowly as she glanced back over her shoulder at the others. s special, isn **

**Now it was Moon**Special?Yes, you know what I** Cloudstorm fixed Moon with a long, contemplating stare. s immune, isns months old.**He is. He and Willow are both immune... though Willows this sort of... genetic mutation, really. Its strong like one. She eats like one... but shet know what did it, but it made her one of them. Her eyes glow in the dark and , you do realize how important Sunny would be to the REA, don** Cloudstorm dodged Moon**Whatever scientists are left after this whole mess are either signed up with Dove or with Striker out at . No, dons afraid of anything with a pointed tip. He nearly passed out when Willow tried to inject him with a little dash of morphine for his wounds at the train , but this is bigger than you know, and I

**Moon didnAdmission**Is there any reason why we

**Cloudstorm shook her head as she mounted the steps to the admission building and tested the door handle. The handle didns weapon. **

**In less than a moment, two buckshot rounds shredded the lock and the door swung open under the influence of Cloudstorm**Somepony died in here. Sweet Celestia that

**Cloudstorm let out a long, slow breath, and Moon watched as the mare visibly shivered. **

**Moon turned and raised an eyebrow at Cloudstorm. **

**She nodded. **

**Moon took a moment to glance around the room. It was dusty, but that was about it. Desks and chairs sat here and there, undisturbed for the most part. If she tried really hard, she could almost convince herself that the ponies had turned off all the lights and gone off on lunch break. **

**Cloudstorm gave another nod, this one much less assuring. Turning away from Moon, the mare started to pick her way through the offices. t want them around.s eyes fell on a droplet of water left in Cloudstorm**Oh...She would have been with me. She would have been with me if I hadn** She stomped a hoof. d be other ponies... and maybe... you know, she Stopping just before the doorway to the lobby, Cloudstorm hung her head and choked out a sob, body trembling. **

**Moon gave the former-sergeant a light nudge with her shoulder. s...it. m sorry, Cloudstorm.**Im so afraid. I left her all by herself to die. What if I walk around a corner and I find her on the floor? T-that rotting smell. What if it** Her voice was little more than a squeak by this point. **

**Moon didn**I can** Moon bit her tongue to avoid saying any more, but nonetheless her words managed to slip out. s why you brought us here, isn **

**Cloudstorm huffed and met Moon**You don** She spoke with venom, the sadness temporarily shunted to the side. t you go accusing me of anything!**I wasn** Moon said hurriedly, plodding over to a desk to rifle through its drawers. re right. If it was Sunny, I would have done the same... Actually, I did do the same. I led an entire town of ponies in the direction of Baltimare just so I could get to him... None of them made it.s hoof went to the headband she wore, not as a sign of leadership, but as a reminder of her failure. Sage was amongst the survivors, and often enough Moon found the turquoise mare staring at the red band hidden mostly by brown mane. **

**Moont gotten to him yet and there were no maggots to eat at the body, which only made the scene that much worse. The handle of a letter opener protruded from his neck as a clear sign of demise. Judging the scene before her, the body had only been here for a week or two. **

**Moon pulled her head away from the stallion on the floor, and much to her surprise, came nearly face-to-face with the body of a mare slumped up against the wall, her chest littered with small stab wounds. Grimacing, Moon stepped away. s two dead ponies in here and it doesn **

**Cloudstorm came charging into the room, face contorted in worry as she glanced over the bodies. A moment later, the mare relaxed. **

**Moon glanced around the lobby, suddenly sure that she was being watched. The building had taken on a much more intimidating feel with her new discovery. **

**Cloudstorm shrugged, though there was no hiding the hope that shone in her eyes. **

**The snack machines had already been emptied of everything but the bits in their trays, the locks having been cut and the contents removed. Paying better attention towards the ground, it wasn**Somepony** Letting out a low growl, Moon banged the side of the machine with a hoof, her mind already drifting to the can of nuts in her saddlebag. She**Found a couple protein bars!s voice off in the next room. **She was about to follow when the rustling of paper pricked her ears. It was subtle enough to be caused by a light breeze, though not enough to go unheard. **

**Levitating her shotgun out in front of her, Moon crept back through the doorway shes face as she lowered her stance, sneaking towards it. **

**Shet a pony hiding in there. **

**Trying to focus two telekinetic fields of magic at once was a skill Moon had not yet masteredso instead, she approached the wardrobe and took one of the brass knobs in her mouth. Bracing herself, she gave it a pull and hopped back, ready to decimate**I** Sighing in exasperation, Moon turned away from the wardrobe and looked back over the room. t think there**One more word and you die,s ear. The voice was young, belonging to a pony little more than a foal.

**Moon whispered, wincing as the gun barrel pressed firmly against her flesh. m not here to hurt you.**You** the pony hissed back. **

**Cloudstorm called. **

**It was just a filly; Moon knew it in her gut. Chances were a filly wouldnsomething low calibers shotgun turned to face its owner, and in attempt to dodge death, Moon threw herself directly at the filly. **

**The little mare was fast. Again, the shot missed, though it was more because the pony wielding it was occupied with dodging out of Moons forelegs gave out. Groaning and growling, the heavy piece of furniture toppled forward as Moon tried desperately to backpedal from it. **

**Rolling to her hooves, Moon pushed off the ground with her forehooves and tried to spring clear. No more than a second after shet even get a chance to cry out before the air was knocked out of her, the wardrobe slamming her into the ground. **

**Cloudstorm yelled, hooves thundering from somewhere across the building. s going on!?t broken her spine, though that hardly seemed to matter now as she stared past the barrel of her own gun and into the cold eyes of its wielder. **

**Cloudstorm burst through the doorway with the furiosity of a hurricane, though skidded to a stop a second later, horror stretching across her face. **

**Moon blinked in confusion, praying for any sort of distraction, anything to keep those five steel balls from ripping her skull apart. **

**The mare pressed the shotgun right between Moon**Donll kill her!Rainstorm... itt shoot her!Who

**Cloudstorm took another step. **

**Rainstorm shook her head. re not her! Everypony else is dead! A-and she left me here to die.**Honey, I came be okay.t bring herself to open her eyes. She didnt end this wayd been through. She hadns grasp as the mare looked desperately between Cloudstorm and Moon.

**The door exploded open from across the room, outside light pouring into the gloomy building as a pony stalked into the gloom. Altic appeared in all her light blue glory, dual SMGs held in her magical grasp. s **

**Altic had only brought her head halfway around when two rounds of buckshot and a slug blew the left half of her face apart. The mare staggered, then dropped to the floor, her SMGs clattering down beside her. **

**Growling, Rainstorm turned the weapon to Moon next, and the trapped mare could do nothing but cower at the smoke whispering from the breech and barrel. There was a certain resolve in the fillys own magical force. Nonetheless, Moon was losing. Sweat beaded on her brow and ran into her eyes. Magic was much harder to produce through pain, and the wardrobe on her back wasns eyes widened a little when a light blue aura joined the battle over the weapon. Immediately, the barrel was yanked to the side. Rainstorm growled and fought to hold it in place, tugging it back towards herself in attempt to regain control of the weapon. **

**With a cry of exertion, Moon gave one last desperate push, closing her eyes in an attempt to channel every bit of magic she could. Suddenly, her horn sparked, then went dead. **

**The firearm discharged, though the sound was muffled by the flesh and bone of its wielder, the barrel pressed firmly against Rainstorm**Momma.s whimper. Taking another weak step, she coughed, blood spilling from her mouth and nostrils. With one last cry, Rainstorm staggered to the side and fell against a desk, sliding down to the floor into the pool of rapidly spreading blood.

**Cloudstorm screamed, rushing forward and wrapping her hooves around the mare, blood or not. Tears running down her face, Cloudstorm pressed her hooves against the gushing entry wound in an attempt to quell the flow of blood. re not going to die. Rainy, you hear me!? I thought I lost you once. I **

**Moon couldn**I** Rainstorms head against her body. **

**Somehow, Cloudstorm managed speak through the tears that filled her eyes. ve got to be strong. Be strong for me, please! Rainy, I can **

**Rainstorm closed her eyes and drew a shuddering breath, shedding tears of her own. d come.**You caused me so much trouble, Rainy, but I

**Rainstorm managed to produce a chuckle, though with it came more blood and a weak cough that sent a shiver down the mare**I never did make you always did, Rainy. Im proud you w-waited for you... T-thanks for c-coming... coming back.I

**Cloudstorm gave the filly in her hooves a shake, Rainstorm**No, wake up! Please wake up!s chest, listening to what was left of Rainstorms whimpering sobs. Slowly but surely, the weak sound of life was fading to nothing.

It seemed like an eternity before Cloudstorm turned her shimmering eyes to Moon. s** Her eyes darkening, Cloudstorm sat up a little, relinquishing her grip on the cooling body. Suddenly, Cloudstorms aim, but nothing more than a spark escaped her horn. **Celestia,s name. He rushed to the mare, lifting her limp body off the floor and shaking her, screaming, crying for her to move, to open her one remaining eye.

Soon others came, but Moon didnt look at them or speak with them. A group of ponies lifted the wardrobe from her back, though there was no reason to move. Why would there be?

Mouths moved as ponies looked at her, word-like noises escaping their lips. Moon kept her eyes on her shotgun.

Drum-fed, semi automatic.

s she doing?Willow, I asked how she

**Willow grunted. s in shock. Whatever happened in there fucked her up bigtime, okay?**I came in there to find Range bawling over Altict shotgun was the weapon that killed both Altic, and the filly. It looks like Cloudstorm shot long do ponies usually stay in shock?d been for the past three hours.

Willow shrugged. t know. The filly got blasted in the belly with a bolo slug. Do you know what those things are?No.s tone had changed to that of disgust. re specifically designed to shred tissue and lacerate whoever they** A shiver ran the course of Willow**...I think that filly was Cloudstorm

**Snowglobe only nodded, her belly rolling end over end. **

**The ponies surrounding Ember cheered as the mare managed to get the corner of a desk going. Grinning like a maniac, Ember swept her cream colored mane back with a forehoof and leaned forward to blow on the flame as it spread. After a moment, she stepped back and reared up on her hind legs, spreading her forehooves. **

**Despite the fact that she was determined to feel bad after the loss of two of their comrades, Snowglobe cracked a tiny grin. **

**It was kind of interesting to watch how ponies fell into their own separate groups. The eight pegasi whod been staring at the fountain. **

**Foresight and Ember were sort of the oddballs, standing alone and refusing to meet the eyes of the others. Cotton and Candy sat beside each other, which was funny enough just because of their names. **

**Though, there were three missing from around the fire. **

**Glancing away from the rising flame, Snowglobe looked elsewhere, out across the walls and between buildings. It didnjust about the only spot in the entire school that wasns headstone. The foul-mouthed stallion had taken the time to carve an epitaph into the smooth surface of the wood. **

**One hell of a mare and the best friend any stallion could ever have **

**No pony else had a heart a as strong as hers **

**In the end, she cared too much **

**Let Cloudstorm live on in those she was closest to **

**Though her body may be gone, her soul remains within us all, ever bright and cheerful **

**She was our hero **

**Snowglobes eyes to the ground. Beside CloudstormRainstorms name, though pushed the thought away as quickly as it had entered her head. Now wasn't a good time to speak, let alone ask a question like that. **

**Away from the other two was the third grave, the one which Range and Yew paid their tribute to. This one carried a much simpler message. **

**She kicked ass **

**Snowglobet really belong, especially now. Even in the mares tenacity and abrasive attitude would remain with her. **

**Snowglobe didn**She didnt even seen it was a fighter. If anything... she should have breathed her last breath in combat. Not get blindsided like that!She never knew, Range. She died happy, at least.I guess that makes us two.s voice, one that rang with defeat.

RangeWhich is why we stay together, Yew. I don** Reaching out, he pulled the mare into a hug, letting Yew**If we go. We go together. Got it? You and me, the last ponies out of Canterlot.s embrace. Choking back a sob, she pressed her face into his neck. d make it this far. I thought we** Suddenly, she straightened and gave Range a brief nod. **

**Range gave the mare a firm pat between the shoulder blades. s right. Now lets clear up the water works. If Altic saw either of us crying, she Range nudged Yew towards the bonfire, turning away from the fresh mound of dirt at his hooves. s go warm up.**Were you two good friends?Fifteen years,Babysat Rainstorm, her daughter, for her on weekends before the filly started getting herself into all sorts of trouble in school. Momma was the authoritative type, so Rainy rebelled. Got kicked out of damn near every school in Baltimare. Real sweetheart Rainy was when you got to know her, unless she was having a bad day. Then you hit ...I loved Cloudstorm like a lover. Never could get close though. She swore off stallions after the accident that turned out to be Rainstorm. So I was her friend, and she was mine. I should have been around for her... If I could have just stopped her from pulling the trigger!Loco... I

**The stallion sighed and pulled the cigar from his mouth, holding it out to Snowglobe. **

**She flinched away from the cigar like he**O-of keep a unicorn around when you need one. Snowglobe was it, right?Yeah. Not very fitting, but it** She shrugged. **

**Loco nodded his head and turned away from the headstone he**Well, Snowglobe. what?Getting me out of are if I hadnd have died with so many others in the city. I hate that my friend died... I hate it more than anything, but mind you I

**re very welcome!**I

**Loco grunted, starting off towards the fire with her. Shooting one last, resentful look at the two mounds of dirt he was leaving behind, he swung his head around to face Snowglobe. why **

**Her eyes drifted over the large stalliont a husky sort of thick, but more of a big-boned thick. He still wore his earth pony shotgun thing, which was a feat of engineering on its own, but now he wore Cloudstorm**Well...Youm pretty sure you are. It know a single thing about and I together could probably fix anything. And you also look really scary wearing those three believed in you guys. I don

**The atmosphere around the fire was a lot more cheerful. Now that Ember had gotten the entire pile of desks and poorly-written schoolwork lit up, everypony stood around the blaze as darkness settled in. Surprisingly enough, Sage had found herself a guitar and was currently playing a slow tune; it wasn**You play?My dad taught me a few chords. Never learned too much dad... he had good taste. Tell me, you know the words to that song?Only the beginning. Besides, it** She smiled up at Loco. **

**Nodding slowly, Loco turned his eyes to the flame. **

**Sage**Can you sing it?Get your harmonica out, you !Come on, sing it for me, big guy. I want to hear the words.I don

**Sage scooted closer to him. re a trainpony. Singing**It ain

**s bittersweet. Now come on!t sure of his intentions, but right as Sage hit a different chord, the stallion opened his mouth and grumbled the first lyrics. **

**Loco coughed and cleared his throat, his voice deep and surprisingly clear over the guitar. He sang with a sort of raspy slur, but it only fit the mood that much better. **

**Ember**My grandad loved this you ever just wanted to leave

**The ponies around the fire had gone completely silent. Locos lighter, smooth tone blended into a spine-chilling harmony. Neither of the two sang with their eyes open. Loco and Ember worked as one, leaning against one another as the firelight danced over their features. **

**one day to climb that wall! **

**Someway I know, that death I canll sing this song.**My days are long in the sun

My nights are slow when no onefaster than the old river runs!

Yes life drags on

Until you

**Snowglobe laid her head on her forehooves as Ember and Loco broke out into two different sets of lyrics at once. The words twisted and played off one another while remaining just different enough to hide both meanings. The two exchanged a smile as they sang, communicating with little nods and gestures as they exchanged lyrics. **

**After so much strife, one hardship after another, Snowglobe wouldnt been able to talk to Moon at all, though maybe it was because of the friction between the two, probably over him. **

**The evening breeze swept through Sunny**Moon?Go away.s voice came from the far corner, behind a row of seats.

He stood there for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should do as he was told. This was a conversation that was not going to be fun, and in all honesty the raging bonfire was much nicer and warmer than this cold, aluminum wagon. s Sunny.I said go away!Moon, get out of the !t any way to get her out of the corner without touching her and SunnyMoon, everypony

**The mare only sniffed. t want anypony to see me crying... just go away.**Everypony already knows you** Biting his lip, Sunny leaned forward and put his hoof on her shoulder, shaking off the heebie-jeebies that came with the contact. m... I He tried to pull her out of the corner, somewhat succeeding. **

**She rounded on him, teeth bared. **

**He fell back on his rump as the mare spun and took a few steps back as she advanced on him. His rump bumped against the back of the wagon and with a worried glance behind him, he realized he was trapped. **

**Sunny was pressed firmly up against the wall, leaning as far away from the mare as he could, almost cowering. **

**Sunny threw his hooves in front of his face as Moon bellowed. He was positive that the music around the fire had stopped and the babble had died down.. t... Moon It **

**Moon Threw herself onto Sunny, sobbing into his neck. t do anything right! All three of them died right in front of me and there wasn **

**Sunny writhed and squirmed against the wall as Moon held onto him. He grit his teeth and tried to push her away. If anypony would have been watching them, it would have been easy to mistake Moon**Yeah, yeah, okay!No hugs, please!I just dont! neck and Sunny almost screamed.

**Enough was enough. It didnt happening. Flaring his wings, he braced himself against the wall and shoved Moon away at the same time. The effect managed to break the mare**Gah, ** Panting, limbs shaking, Sunny tried to calm his nerves. **

**At first, Moon didn**It know what to do , I donm tired of watching the ponies around me all are, Moon. Theres calling themt know about you, but I worry every day whatll live or die or if I** He took a step towards Moon and set his hoof down by hers. He wasn**Youm still alive, Moon. Remember that day back in Desert Sage? The night we shared?If you and I hadnt have come across Notebook, we never would have met Willow and Brick. We never would have made it to the hospital, and we never would have known what was coming. Moon, if I hadnd be dead... and so would those ponies out therere alive: Thatre part of the reason theyve saved countless others.s blue eyes, Sunny forced himself to take her hoof. t know what I

**She tightened his grip on the stallion**I took a train from Appleoosa all the way to Baltimare to find you. There** Her eyes darted to the ground. t want you to end up like one of the others. What if it had been you to come in and check on the shooting and not Altic? I feel so good that she died and not you, but I hate myself for it as well! That poor mare got shot in the face, and all I can think of afterwards is t Sunny **

**Things were getting into the danger zone now. Her muzzle was only an inch from his own. There was no way this was actually happening. The little pony in Sunny**...You worried that much about me?Yes, Sunny, I did. I regretted letting you leave the moment you got on that skywagon... We stick together from now on. Deal?...Deal,t letting up though. Sunny felt a forehoof drape around his neck, pulling him closer as Moon reined him in with surprising force. Sunnyt afraid of it. Somehow, the problem heEnjoying yourselves?I...s. Unlike Moon, Willow didns eyes glowed in the dark, as they normally did, but they held a fire in them now that could have melted through steel. **she said flatly. d come check on you two. I needed to give Moon a quick examination as well to make sure her spine hadn Willow**I figured, since she was still in shock, she might not be aware of any injuries that should have otherwise been brought to attention. To my delight, it appears she has made a full recovery.t have any words. The very last place he wanted to look was into Willowt pull his own away. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale... He had to say something. Don** Willow turned away and closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were on Moon. m sorry for interrupting you two. If you n-need me or anything, I **

**Sunny took a step towards his friend, but Willow backed up, shaking her head at him. **

**She turned and ran, charging for the door at the end of the wagon. She missed it the first time and ran headlong into the wall, putting a heavy dent in the aluminum shell before righting herself and staggering out the door. **

**Sunny trotted halfway down the aisle after her, then stopped himself. Feeling weak, and suddenly rather sick, he leaned up against a seat and held his belly with a forehoof. **

**Moon placed her hoof on his shoulder from behind and Sunny jerked away with a wince. **

**s nothing.**Sunny... does Willow like you... like, like you?Yes, Moon, she does! Is had to talk to for weeks! They locked us in a cell together. Shet you see why I

**Moon took a step back, hurt shining bright and fresh in her eyes. but... Sunny?**I can** Snarling, Sunny turned his back on her and stormed out of the wagon. Outside, a light drizzle was just starting up, carried in by the winds. Of course, Willow wasnt feel like being around the others as he was right now anyways. It would, most assuredly, lead to even more disaster. **

**Even as his hooves carried him off towards the back wall of the campus, which he intended to take a nice, long walk around, his mind continued to wander back to the kiss; his first kiss. **

**As disastrous as it had been... he almost wanted another.**


	21. Chapter 21

"Come on, come on. Move it. We've been sitting here too long! Get on the damn wagons!"

Sunny watched as Willow strode about the camp in the orange light of morning, kicking and poking ponies awake as she strode amongst the rows of bedrolls and blankets. The twenty-three of them had managed to exhaust Happyhorn of any useful supplies in no less than two days. There had been little food to be had within the compound. In his searches, Sunny had come across obvious signs of survivor activity—they must have lived here for quite some time before leaving. No weapons, no supplies, and no bodies.

The staff of Happyhorn had survived the initial infection, and in the process they'd bled the place dry. Sunny wasn't quite sure, but there was solace in the fact that there had been other ponies living here at one point who could still be alive somewhere. Maybe the Happyhorn survivors had done something similar to what Sunny and his friends had done: escaped to somewhere better, preferably not Baltimare.

Thinking back on it, Sunny was actually pretty glad that he'd spent the first month of the initial infection in an unresponsive state. He hated to imagine, to even think of how it must feel hiding inside those walls knowing that every day there was less and less food to be had. By far, coming in at the end had been much less stressful on him.

"Get up!" Willow bellowed to one of the pegasi, slamming her hooves down on the concrete beside his head with such force that a spiderweb of cracks skewered out from the source of impact.

The pegasus yelled and rolled away from her, beating his wings as he tried to climb to his hooves. "Gah, what the hay!? I'm up, I'm up!"

Sunny flinched. Willow, for the most, part seemed to have control of her… powers, on good days. Really, there was no better word for it. She could chew through steel, crush concrete, eat and successfully digest meat and even see in the dark; if those weren't powers then Sunny didn't know what was.

Willow looked up and met Sunny's eye. For a moment, they exchanged a glance before the white mare snarled and turned away, bearing down on the rest of the ponies who were still foolish enough to remain lying down.

A shiver ran down the course of his spine. The events of that night still burned fresh in his mind. After she'd barged in on him and Moon, Willow had proceeded to the admission building and smashed every desk, chair, window, and wall. Celestia herself must have willed the building to remain standing, because Sunny sure couldn't see how it had survived.

He'd been afraid to even look at Moon with Willow around. Even when Willow wasn't around, he still had trouble looking Moon in the eye. Their eyes would meet and Sunny would feel a swathe of crimson run across his face. He couldn't look into those blue eyes of hers without imaging her warm lips pressed to his. The feeling was both a combination of discomfort and confusing pleasure that left his ears twitching and his legs shaking. Touch was something to be associated with pain; now he wasn't sure what it was supposed to be.

"Pegasus!" Snowglobe hollered from a makeshift guard stand near the edge of the courtyard.

Sunny's ears perked straight up and he spun, switching off the safety on the service rifle he'd commandeered from a dead soldier. His eyes scanned the air above them for a quick second before landing on a straggling shape in the distance. It flew with sloppy, irregular rotations of its wings that Sunny would have expected from a filly trying to fly.

His eyes darted to Snowglobe and Loco, who had taken last sentry watch for the night. The two sat next to each other, snickering and pointing at the useless zombie.

"Well they can't all be winners," Loco said with a chortle. Leaning back on his haunches, he reached around with a forehoof and pulled forth the shotgun he kept in the elongated holster on his right side. "This one's mine."

Watching the earth pony aim the weapon with his forehooves was one of the more interesting things Sunny had seen in the past two days. Loco sat back on his haunches as he held the weapon aloft with both forehooves, aiming down the iron sights.

"Ready?" Loco said, giving Snowglobe a soft nudge with his elbow. "Bolo slug." He pulled the hoof trigger and the weapon barked, the shortened muzzle of the shotgun letting out a puff of smoke as it reared up in his grasp. There was a quarter second delay, then the pegasus screeched and flipped over in the air. It fell one way and its left wing went the other, the severed appendage falling towards the ground like a wet leaf.

"Ooooooh!" Snowglobe cheered. "You shot its wing off!" She frowned. "Shit... you shot its wing off."

Loco sheathed his weapon and whistled. "Those little bastards are nasty. Who in the name of Celestia could have thought up something so… brutal?"

"Pirates!" Candy called from down in the courtyard, looking up at Loco. "Well, not exactly pirates… but pirates used them, but it was originally thought up by the navy. First it was called a chain shot—they used them to snap a ship's masts. Then some genius came along and created guns. After that, it was nothing but a race to see who could kill each other better."

Snowglobe gave Loco a parting salute accompanied with a short chuckle before climbing down from her perch. "What did we need all these damn guns for anyways? I mean, it sure is nice that we've got them… I think Equestria would be completely dead by now if we didn't have guns to fight off the zombies, but why make them in the first place?"

Candy snorted and flicked her tail. "Not one to keep up on history and current events before the infection, were you?"

Snowglobe shook her head.

"Tension with the Griffons," Candy said with a shrug. She looked back across the courtyard and waved Cotton over. "The prime minister of Gryphus severed all trade with Equestria, once upon a time. I don't know the exact date, but it was because of sparring between the two's military forces amongst the griffon cities. Ponies are looked at as lesser creatures by the griffons—they see us as small and weak. The only ponies they've ever really had respect for was the pegasi, but that was only because of a war thousands of years ago that nearly destroyed both races. Nonetheless, the REA had multiple outposts in griffon cities and a lot of Gryphus didn't like it. One thing led to another, and an Equestrian company wound up gunning down a hundred or so armed civilians claiming self-defense. It didn't settle well with the public and eventually led to the Minister's decision to bar Equestria from maintaining forces in griffon territory in order to maintain his popularity."

Sunny found himself trotting closer as Candy presented her story. He'd never actually heard the full details.

"Hey, Candy." Cotton gave the striped mare a soft nudge from behind.

"One sec, telling a story," Candy said to Cotton, pulling the mare into a sideways hug. "Now, that alone wouldn't have been much of a problem... if he hadn't of severed the trade route. Celestia was pissed. Griffons are the best blacksmiths, and some of the best farmers around, some of them even better than earth ponies. Equestria traded with Gryphus for food and iron, but without that trade, the majority of the eastern cities couldn't support their populations. There were food shortages, riots. Celestia demanded the trade routes be re-opened and made the mistake of requesting with force." Candy lowered her head and raised her hoof, a halfway grin on her face as she looked out over her audience. "She broke rule number one: never insult a griffon's pride. She sent a small army across the ocean to demand the trade of food after multiple pleas. The griffons met them with resistance. Half our forces were killed and the other half were taken prisoner. Back then, ponies still favored using spears and swords, but the griffons had already embraced powder weapons. Equestria was still playing with the idea of using matchlocks and the griffons were already figuring out breach-loading.

"The Equestrians got slaughtered. Not a single griffon died in the spar. It was a heavy blow, and it was a rude wakeup call to the rest of Equestria. Guns were the next step to the future. After that it was a race to beat the griffons." Candy shrugged. "If this infection hadn't broken out, I bet we'd be fighting griffons right now instead of zombies. And of course, guns got popular amongst the civilians. I mean, it's a stick that shoots a flaming hot piece of lead at whatever you point it at."

"Wow," Snowglobe muttered. "All that in ten years?"

Candy nodded. "Fifteen actually. The feud with the griffons really kicked off and fueled the industrial revolution and race for technological advancement, which, in turn, started higher food consumption within Equestrian cities and caused more tension. No matter what, it was going to get bloody."

Snowglobe asked Candy something else, though Sunny missed what it was when a hoof jabbed him in the side. He let out a little cry of surprise and jumped to the side, turning his head to see Moon. His eyes widened for a second before he played the move off with a less-than-casual shrug and shift of his posture. "Cool story, eh, Moon?"

The unicorn nodded, then tossed her head towards the wagons. "Sure was. Come on."

Sunny did as was implied, standing up and trotting over to Moon, who then proceeded to lead them towards the skywagons. The pullers were already getting hooked up for the flight. Throwing one look back to Candy, who was continuing on with her ramblings, Sunny kind of wished he'd stayed for the rest of the story. "History major back there..." He turned to Moon. "Why would the griffons pick a fight with the ponies who raise and lower the sun every day?" he muttered.

Moon scoffed and gave him a light nudge. "You still believe those fairytales?"

"Uh…" Sunny blinked. "I never really thought about it… It's what they taught me in school."

She only shook her head at him. "Stories, Sunny. Even the princesses themselves don't have enough power to guide the sun and the moon at will. Celestia stays quiet about the whole thing, but Luna herself once told the media that the sun and the moon would move all on their own were they to step out of the way. The two princesses only guide the sun and the moon—keep them in sync. They don't actually move them; they do that naturally on their own. Now, the crazy thing is, when Luna became Nightmare Moon, she did actually reverse direction of the moon with an immense show of raw power to eclipse the sun. The repercussions that followed lasted another fifteen years. All around the world the tides were completely off-whack and a bunch of other crazy things that I couldn't even begin to explain."

Sunny gave his head a shake and chuckled. "I think I learned more in the past ten minutes than I have in every year of school since I was born."

Moon smirked. "Didn't go to college?"

"Nope."

"Got stuck in Desert Sage working a low end job?

"Yep."

She nodded. "Ah. Figured it was something like that." She patted her own chest with a proud little smirk. "Four-year degree in astronomy, Sunny. It's why I've got a picture of a moon on my butt."

Sunny nearly collided with Willow as the mare directed ponies to the two wagons. Panicking, Sunny froze in place, his eyes darting from Willow to Moon, then back again. Willow glanced between Sunny and Moon with barely-restrained malice.

"Sunny," Willow said through her teeth, turning her attention to a smiling unicorn painted on the compound wall. "You and Moon can take the right wagon," she said with forced sweetness, somehow managing to sound even more bitter in the process. "I'll ride on the left." Narrowing her eyes at Moon, she patted Sunny on the back. "You two need your privacy." Taking one last moment to glower, she turned away and stomped to her respective skywagon.

Lucky enough for them, none of their pullers had ditched in the night, so they still had a full flight crew for both wagons. Sunny boarded the right wagon as he was told, Moon right on his tail. Copper and Foresight were already on board and locked in a conversation that made absolutely no sense without context.

Sunny took a seat near the back with Moon as more ponies boarded. Snowglobe and Loco came next. "Skies are unguarded," the burly stallion declared. "Now it's time to fly."

Next came Jade and Sage, which Sunny assumed was all. There really was no bonus to losing two of their party, but it did make travel a little easier on the fliers.

Sage had kept the guitar, having found a case for it labeled with the stamp 'PROPERTY OF HAPPYHORN STUDENT LIBRARY. PLEASE CHECK OUT BEFORE USE'.

Taking a seat ahead of Loco, Sage reclined and set her guitar case aside, propping it between the seat and the wall. Smirking, she turned around and put her forehooves on the back of the seat, setting her chin on them as she looked at Loco. "Up for some more songs later today?"

The older stallion scratched his neck and laughed. "What're you trying to do, get us to start a band?" He reached forward and messed up her mane. "You and the pretty pegasus play a good folk tune. You all should take Ember and get her in on it; she's got a better voice than me."

Sage pouted. "But you've got the bass in your voice that goes perfect with Ember's voice! We could start up Equestria's first post-apocalypse band and become celebrities."

Jade snorted and pulled Sage back into her seat, wrapping the turquoise mare in a tight hug. Her dark wings unfurled and wrapped around Sage as she nuzzled into the mare's cheek. "We don't need to be famous, Sage. I'm perfectly fine with just being with you."

Sage hid her face with a forehoof and let out a fillyish giggle. "Jade, other ponies are watching."

Sunny's mind snapped back to awareness and he quickly looked away from the two, instead choosing to meet Moon's eye. "Heh…" he said with a little shrug. "They're cute together."

The wagon jolted as the pullers pulled the slack from the harnesses and started forward, dragging the skids across the stone. Sunny watched as the wagon Willow and the others were on took off, clearing the razorwire with a few extra feet to spare before banking around to circle the compound while the other got into place.

He didn't like the feel of leaving Happyhorn behind. It had been a safe haven, at least for the time being, but there was no point in staying in a place that offered no food. As much as the compound had to offer, it just didn't have enough.

Sighing, Sunny watched the ground flash by as they took off and baked into the sky. He leaned his head against the window as the pullers steered the wagon to the southwest, further away from Baltimare, and hopefully the REA.

The rain had stopped; thank Celestia.

Dove strode quietly between the rows of canvas tents that they'd erected in a field a little ways off the coast. Droplets of rain still clung to the grass, shining like a million grounded fireflies in the dawn. Every hoofstep tromped a tuft of grass, scattering the liquid and soaking the charcoal mare's hooves. The cold water sent shivers up Dove's spine, though it couldn't explain the knot in her belly or the tremble in her jaw. The air was heavy, literally heavy, and every breath tasted of rain, cold and sharp on the lungs.

Far on the horizon, smoke rose from the shadow of a city that was Baltimare. They were still receiving radio transmissions from the city. The evacuation had been messy. Casualties had been massive and the MIA roster could have rivaled a dictionary. Skywagons were still flying in and out of the city, extracting troops where they could and sometimes not coming back. Without the border defenses in place, the fliers were swarming about the city looking for easy prey. Changelings were the worst. The little bastards would pick out a single pony in a crowd and go for them and only them, until the death.

Dove tore her gaze away from the coastal city and instead looked out towards the coast. If she imagined real hard, she could see Striker's fleet sitting out there, living on their rations and smirking at her and the rest of the REA. What she'd give right now to beat Striker to a pulp...

"Marshal, I've been looking all over for you!"

Dove hung her head as the muffled sound of hoofsteps reached her ears. Never a moment alone. "Yes?"

A gray mare in crimson medical barding that had once been white trotted up to her. "I don't know what to do about the medical bay. We're running out of supplies and those who're in critical shape aren't going to—"

"You've got bullets, don't you?"

The mare blanched. "Um... y-yes, but..."

Dove dismissed the mare with a flick of her ears. "Problem solved. Save those who are worth it. Save the medication for those who can use it."

The poor mare didn't speak another word. Folding her ears, she backed away before trotting back towards the camp.

Dove let her shoulders sag; nopony was watching. The REA barding itched at her neck and pinched her legs. Ever since her return from the meeting with Striker, the uniform had seen everything from mud to blood. It was like wearing a rawhide.

She pushed herself to her hooves and started up the hill, towards the edge of the plateau and towards the ocean. There weren't any tents to weave in and out of on the hill, so it was a fairly short walk to the summit. Upon reaching the top, it rounded off a little bit only to come to an abrupt stop before a rocky cliff face.

Dove sat herself at the edge, looking down on the waves crashing against the rocks fifty feet below.

She looked back at camp. Hundreds upon hundreds of tents spanned out over the field, protected by a makeshift fence and garrisoned, wary troops. In the very middle was the landing field, their remaining skywagons lined up in rows down either side; the remainder probably wasn't enough to carry a quarter of the ponies here.

Not too far away from the landing pad, one of the few wagon crews still brave enough to make flights to Baltimare was coming in, only the lineup was all wrong. Only three ponies pulled the wagon, the fourth was nowhere to be seen, and the entire carriage yawed dangerously to one side as sparks and puffs of smoke escaped from the ventilation panels in the rear. Most likely, they'd overloaded the flight-assist systems to compensate for extra weight and the lack of one flier.

An alarm rang somewhere on the ground as the wagon came it. Dove tried to turn her head; she didn't need to see this, but she couldn't look away.

The skywagon came down on the left skids, and because of the poor lineup angle, immediately pitched right. It took less than a second for the giant tin can to go into a roll, crashing and smashing down the runway at flight speed before coming to a stop on its side. Ponies began to rush the wagon, helping those out who could walk and carrying others.

Dove looked back out towards the sea. They had asked her what to do. Zombies had been swarming all across the countryside, spreading from city to city. The princesses were presumed dead and all hope was lost, and then they asked...

"Marshal, what should we do?"

She glanced up from the doodle on her desk that had been occupying the last couple hours of her time. "Excuse me?"

The stallion stepped forward, removing his hat just as the two other ponies who stood on either side of him did the same. "Colonel Dove, Field Marshal Clean Cut has been reported missing last night. He was vacationing with his wife in Las Pegasus."

Dove narrowed her brows and waved her hoof at them. "You called me Marshal... but I'm not his successor. There's at least a dozen others in the REA that rank higher than me."

The stallion averted his eyes to the ground for a moment. "Yes. They have all either been confirmed MIA or KIA. You are the highest ranking officer in the city of Baltimare at this time. An estimated seventy percent of our total military strength is present within the city at this moment." He took a step forward, setting one hoof on the desk. "Marshal... the infection is coming."

Dove swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, wide-eyed.

"What should we do?"

It took her a moment to reply. "Protect the city. Hold our ground. We've got enough forces here to wait it out."

The stallion nodded. "Understood." Reaching back, he pulled a bundle out of his saddlebags and set it on the desk before her. "Your new uniform, Marshal."

"You already picked it up for me...?" Dove shook her head. "T-this can't be right. They can't all be gone. How can they all be gone!?"

The stallion sighed. "Because half of Equestria's gone. Marshal... we expect this epidemic to hit us in a matter of days. Its spreading like wildfire. Anypony who's behind the lines are considered lost."

She nodded, barely suppressing the squeak that so desperately wanted to escape her mouth.

"Seal the inner city. Build up the walls."

What else had there been to do?

With a growl, Dove tugged at the top button of her uniform and only succeeded in ripping it off. She shook her head, then sighed, giving one quick jerk with her forehoof that opened up the front of the uniform in a little shower of buttons that pitter-pattered away down the slope.

Pulling the uniform off was like being able to breathe again. The sun shone warmly against her dark coat, kissing the flesh with its golden sympathy. She held it out in front of her, dangling it over the cliff face as she glowered at the insignia on the breast of the uniform.

"You're not so special," she said an undertone. "Look at you—a dirty suit that makes those who wear it powerful. Well look at me now. I'm nothing, so you might as well be nothing too. I don't even need you." Dove willed herself to let go, to let the uniform fall and be consumed by the hungry waves below. Why not? "...I don't deserve you."

"You know, you might need that!"

Dove tensed, her head whipping around as she searched for the source of the voice; it was Graham. He trotted towards her, hooves the same color as the wet grass. With a quick stretch, he sat down beside her. The breeze tugged at his brown mane, blowing it out to the side a little as he stared out over the ocean.

"What do you want?" Dove asked after a moment.

"Hope I'm not bothering, Marshal—"

"Don't call me Marshal."

Graham nodded. "Right, sorry... Hope I'm not bothering, Dove, but I figured you could use somepony to talk to. I know you're taking Baltimare kind of hard... I mean, it was your hometown and all."

Dove nodded and set the uniform down beside her, pinning it to the hilltop with a forehoof to keep the wind from stealing it away. "I tried. All I wanted was to keep them safe."

Graham gave her a firm look. "You tried, Dove, there's nothing you could have done about it."

"But all those ponies died because of me!" She stomped her hoof, unable to look at him, not with the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"They would have died a lot sooner without you!" Graham countered.

"What about the soldiers? What about the REA? I destroyed it holding on to a stupid cause. All I did was give all those ponies in Baltimare an extra month and a half to live and false hope to die on!" She gestured back to the camp. "Look at us! This is Equestria's last hope!" Turning fully, she motioned over the extent of the camp. "Equestria's last hope is nothing more than a bunch of broken and tired soldiers camped out in a field!"

"Yeah, but—"

She silenced him with a wave of her hoof. "We're not an army! We're survivors! Just because we wear uniforms doesn't mean we have any authority—we're just another gang of ponies trying to survive. The REA is dead!"

"We are not dead!" Graham shouted.

Dove froze, shocked by the sudden change in his demeanor. Slowly, she turned to face him, ears perked, eyes averted.

"We are damaged, Dove." He took a step towards her, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "We've suffered losses, and a lot of them, but we are not dead. We've got more ponypower, more knowhow, and more weapons than anypony else in Equestria. And I swear it on my grave, that I will not let the REA fall while I am still alive, even if I have to uphold it myself." He tightened his grip on her shoulder. "And neither will you."

Dove turned her eyes to meet Graham's. "That's what I'm afraid of. Every decision I make, everything I do—it always gets ponies killed. Every word of command that leaves my mouth leads to the death of hundreds."

"And where do you think they'd all be if you hadn't given the command to evacuate when you did?" Graham stared into her eyes, firm and unblinking. "You're smart, Dove. You knew what had to be done. In times like these, sacrifices have to be made! It was either them, or all of us. No matter what, those civilians, all those ponies, they were going to die, and there wasn't a single thing that you, or I, or anypony could do about that."

Dove didn't speak. She looked into his eyes, shaking her head as she bit her lip. He was right. Of course he was right. Graham had always been the voice of reason.

"We have got an army, Dove. An army with no place to go, and no family to go to. We've got the strongest army Equestria has ever seen, right here, right down there in that field. We fight for each other... to survive. All those ponies down there are looking to you for orders. You've held them together since the start of this mess, and you can hold them together now. Dove... don't let them down."

She shrugged his hoof off her shoulder and turned back to the sea. After a moment's pause, she lifted her uniform off the ground and gave it one last look. Graham protested as she went to toss it away but she silenced him with a look. Holding the gray uniform out in the wind, Dove let it go, watching as the cold air took it away, blowing it out to sea.

"Why'd you do that?" Graham asked, his voice hardly more than a whisper.

Dove watched the waves as they rolled across the sea. Far in the distance, it was still dark over the ocean, but the sun was ever pushing it farther away as it took its natural place in the sky.

"Because I'm their leader, not their commander."

Sunny's eyes danced over the map laid across the console. There were so many little marks here and there on it, so many different choices... so many wrong choices. Happyhorn had been a lucky landing, but some of these other places he wasn't all too sure about. Moon stood beside him, making suggestions and pointing the tip of her hoof to different spots on the map while he vacantly acknowledged her with little grunts and the occasional nod of his head.

Landing was was proving to be a lot harder than it had been the first time.

"Okay." Moon rubbed her forehead as she spoke, throwing a little glance at Sunny. "We've been in flight for six hours now and we've been traveling at about... fortyish, you'd say?"

Sunny nodded. "Forty five."

"Right, so that's two hundred and seventy miles." She pointed to Baltimare on the map. Cloudstorm had marked it off with a big red X—crude, but effective. "If we add that to the mileage of our last flight that puts us about... six hundred miles southeast of Baltimare, give or take a few in any direction." Her eyes flicked to the compass on the console. A ruler levitated just an inch above the map, the pencil right beside it making a small mark. "That should put us near the town of... Waterwillow."

Sunny glanced out ahead. There was nothing to be seen but thick, leafy trees and the occasional wagon trail cutting its way through the forests. "Are you sure we want to try and land there though? Last town we tried was infested with them."

Moon bit her lip. "Well we've got to land somewhere. There's nowhere to put these wagons down in the trees and there's no way in Equestria we're landing on the roads."

Sunny only nodded in agreement. The roads were death traps; the zombies used them, literally. Every one they'd passed over, he'd seen clusters of multicolored ponies lumbering either this way or that. Apparently, it didn't take a primitive being to figure out that walking on cobblestone and dirt trails was easier than trudging through the forest.

There were a lot more survivors than he'd originally thought as well. Smoke occasionally rose from inconspicuous spots and fields amongst the trees, or every once in a while he'd see a chimney smogging the sky or a small cluster of ponies that moved with too much organization to be zombies.

Equestria wasn't dead, but it sure was up to its belly in shit.

Sunny glared at the map. "What would the safest place in Equestria be?"

It was Jade who answered. "Prison," she said with a snicker, leaning forward in her seat to stretch. "You may not be free but Celestia forbid you make contact with another living soul... apart from the lunchroom. That place was just plain nasty.

Sage blinked and cocked her head at Jade. "You've been to prison?"

"Yeah... little things."

"Like?" Sage poked the mare in the ribs with the tip of her forehoof.

Jade flushed softly and shrugged. "Bah, just... attempted murder."

"Prison!" Sunny declared, spinning and pointing a wingtip at Jade.

The pegasus mare frowned. "Yeah, okay, don't rub it in." she shot a self-conscious look to Sage and shrugged her shoulders. "It was my coltfriend... Long story."

Grinning, Sunny shook his head. "No, I mean, a prison. There's nowhere safer in Equestria!" He spun back around and occupied himself with looking over the map. "We could find a prison. Like Happyhorn, but, you know, bigger! An actual prison!"

Moon shot Sunny a look, but didn't speak.

Sunny turned back to Jade. "Where'd they send you?"

The dark mare shifted, glancing between Sage and the floor. "Ashfield. High security. It's a mares-only prison." She gave Sage a look. "And before you ask... I tried to kill my coltfriend." She shook her head, glancing out the window. "He hit me, so I grabbed a knife and... well, to say the least we broke up. He got a trip to the hospital and I got four years. I spent two of them in a cell with a mare who drowned her own foal; that ended when she tried to strangle a guard on duty and the other one shot her dead... good thing too—mare was totally twigged."

Sunny grinned at Moon, who looked back and shrugged.

"No!" Jade declared, jumping to her hooves. "That place is a nasty place! I'm not kidding you when I say they sent the worst of the worst in Equestria there."

"It's just a building." Sunny fixed his eyes on hers. "If it can get us safety then I don't really care what it is. Is the place anywhere near here?"

Jade closed her eyes, biting her lower lip for a second. Her wings trembled softly at her sides until Sage stood up and nuzzled against the darker mare's neck. "You said we're near Waterwillow?"

"Twenty miles north," Moon answered.

Jade nodded. "Right... well, Ashfield's forty miles to the west outside a little farm town called Baker's Pasture." She took a step towards Sunny, who took a step back. "Please." Wrapping a wing around Sage, she pulled the mare close. "Don't make me go back there. It's a bad place with bad emotions. You can't just put all of Equestria's worst in one building and not expect the feeling to seep into the ground. Just being there makes you want to do something terrible. There's bad magic there!"

"I... kind of agree with her," Moon added in a quiet voice, turning to look at Sunny.

Sunny glanced between the two, blinking in mild confusion. "I think you two are missing my point."

"It's a mare thing!" Loco shouted from the back of the cabin, a cloud of cigar smoke hovering around his head. The old stallion had a good snicker at the combined glares of Moon and Jade before going back to blowing smoke rings.

"The orange one is right!" Foresight dragged himself out of his seat with a roll of his eyes. "I was sure you ponies could handle navigation on your own, but apparently, it's going to be an issue." He trotted up to the front of the wagon and sat down, looking over the rest of the ponies on board. "If we want to land anywhere safe for more than a day or two then we're going to have to land at Ashfield. If the place was meant to keep ponies in then it should definitely keep them out.

Jade shook her head and looked away. "But what if there's zombies there?"

Foresight shrugged. "What if? Isn't that the question we face with every landing?"

Sunny's ears perked as the radio crackled. While Foresight and the others continued to bicker, Sunny moved to the console and scooped up the receiver. "Go ahead and repeat that for me."

"I said, preparing to break cloud cover." It was Candy on the radio. "We're about to break cloud cover and begin our descent.

"No, Candy, we've decided against Waterwillow. Readjust to the west; we're heading for Ashfield." Sunny peered out ahead through the windscreen. He couldn't see anything apart from the swirling clouds and the four fliers coupled to the wagon.

"Ashfield?" The mare sounded skeptical. "You mean the prison?"

"Sure do."

It was a minute or two before Candy spoke again, in which Sunny had occupied himself with reading the list of REA frequencies that'd been taped to the front of the radio by its last operator.

"Okay, I've told our fliers to head for Ashfield, but we're gonna go a quick fly over Waterwillow just to see how the place looks."

"Sounds good." Sunny hesitated for a moment, staring at the transmitter in his hoof. "So... how's Willow doing?"

Candy sighed into the mic. "Not so good, Sunny." She lowered her voice. "Won't stop staring out the window—won't speak. Sometimes I see her eyes. Sunny, I swear there's murder in them... What did you do to her, Sunny? She flinches every time somepony says your name."

He felt himself pale. "...Now's not a good time to talk about it."

"Okay then." Sunny could almost imagine Candy shrugging her shoulders over on the other wagon. "I just worry is all. We've been—" Without warning, Candy stopped speaking. Her voice didn't trail off or waver; it just stopped.

Sunny tapped the radio to see if he'd lost the signal, but they were still on the receiving end of the transmission. "Candy?" he asked.

No response. Of course there was no response. The mare was still holding the button down on her end.

"Luna fuck me sideways." Candy's voice was a lot quieter than it had been before. "I don't know!" she yelled to somepony whose voice the receiver didn't pick up. "Go, go, get ready! Change altitude now; get us back to five hundred feet!" The receiver on her end barket barked with a rush of static and a clatter that probably came from it being dropped.

"Candy!" Sunny pounded the radio's metal casing and clicked the receiver a few times. She couldn't hear him if she didn't let off the damn button!

"Sunny," Moon said sharply, placing her hoof on his shoulder.

Sunny tensed and jerked away, throwing his head towards Moon. "What?"

She pointed out ahead.

They'd just broken through the cloud cover, and from here he could see the town of Waterwillow... and it was alive. Zombies swarmed over roads and buildings like maggots on a corpse, nothing but multicolored blobs at this distance. What was most horrifying, however, was how many pegasi there were in the air. Maybe two hundred feet above and a little bit to the right center of the small town, Sunny could see the other skywagon. It already had a dozen or so pegasi giving chase.

"What in Celestia's name is that!?" Foresight gasped, pressing his face against the window as he looked ahead and down at the mess. "I-it's some sort of like... gathering point or something, or maybe there were survivors down there a-and they just got overrun, or maybe—"

"Get us up to them!" Sunny pounded on the small transit button that relayed his voice to the headsets the fliers wore. "Get us up there so we can help them!"

"Are you insane!?" the mare in the lead shouted back. She glanced back at the cabin, her mane whipping about her terrified face as she pointed a hoof down towards the town of Waterwillow. "Look at how many of them there are down there!" Static crackled over the line and distorted her words, the wind whipping at her mic, but there were no missing them. "They'll shred us."

Sunny leaned on the button and glared at her. "Get us to that other wagon, now!"

Already, more pegasi were taking off from the streets and rooftops, funneling into the air in a terrifying display of organization. Dozens... dozens of dozens. Sweet Celestia they'd stumbled into hell, either that or zombie heaven.

"Sunny!" Moon tugged at his barding, pulling him back away from the windscreen. "I don't think they've spotted us yet. If we break off now we'll be fine."

Sunny shook his head, pulling away from her. "No, we can't we've got to—"

"No, Sunny!" Moon, pulled him back again. "I'm not dying for them!"

He didn't think. Some part of him, fueled by worry and whatever else wasn't having this. He spun on one forehoof and clobbered Moon across the muzzle. The poor mare was so dazed that she stumbled backwards and flopped over onto her side. "Damnit!" he hollered down at her. "My friends are on that wagon and there's no way I'm leaving them to that!" He nodded towards the pegasus cyclone that was spreading out and curving for the gray streak of aluminum in the skies ahead.

Panting, Sunny looked down at her, feeling the rage in his eyes and the heat in his glare. He looked down at her, his hoof tingling slightly. Had he just...?

He couldn't meet the eyes of the others. Instead, he turned back to the console and mashed the button. "Get us up there, now! And if you try to disconnect from your harness, I'll shoot you."

The mare leading the puller team glanced back at him. There was fear in her eyes, pure and true, but she nodded. "Okay." She glanced to the other three pullers. "Come on, lets doubletime it!"

Sunny didn't hesitate any longer. He needed a good place to shoot from. He had six magazines for the carbine in his saddlebags, plus the one already in the weapon. That was one hundred and forty bullets. Nothing for short range though...

He nearly tripped over Moon as he turned to rush to the back of the cabin. Barely saving himself with a flap of his wings, he turned to look down at the blue mare. She lay on her belly now, glaring at the floor, biting back the tears that were coming. Possibly the worst part about the scene was that he didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for her, not right now; he should have.

"You gonna use that shotgun?" he asked quietly, leaning down a little.

Moon turned away from him and shook her head. "Leave me alone."

"Now is not the time for this!" he stooped down and pulled the drum-fed shotgun from Moon's bag and set it in the custom rack on the battle saddle. It was a bit of an awkward fit, but the weapon settled firm and the firing mechanism activated with a soft click. "You just stay there if you're not going to help your friends. I'll make sure to remember this when it's you who needs help." He huffed and turned away from her. "If there's one thing this has taught me, it's that friends stay together, no matter what." Sunny looked up to the others in the cabin.

Loco, Jade, Snowglobe, Sage, Copper, Foresight—none of them said a thing, but he could read their faces.

What was wrong with them? Was it his eyes? They were looking at him like he was something else entirely. Only Snowglobe seemed to really see him. Her eyes were different; they shone with encouragement. Hidden below the fear and the doubt was approval, and that was all he needed.

Sunny shook his head to clear the thought, then looked over all of them. He didn't dare look at the cloud of pegasi that was filling the air right beside them. They were in the fray now and there was no heading back.

The radio from the other wagon was still sending. Nothing could me made out as shouts and yells poured over the speakers. Gunshots started to ring out, and that's when Sunny looked back out ahead for the other wagon. The wave of death was steadily overtaking the aluminum shell, pegasus ponies diving left and right for the roof and windows.

There had to be a way to help them from here. Sunny tore his eyes away from the fray to look, scanning the walls and roof of the skywagon. There, on the roof, an escape hatch.

Without a word, Sunny ran to it, leaping up onto one of the seats to reach the handle. A quick squeeze of the jaw released the latch and the pressure outside yanked the door open to slam it down atop the roof. Immediately, swirling wind filled the cabin, trying to force its way down his mouth and nose. Sunny took a quick moment to ready himself, then jumped, latching his forelegs onto the brim and beating his wings to help pull himself up.

"Sunny!" Snowglobe rushed up to meet him right as he pulled his legs through the hatch and onto the roof.

Sunny forced himself to stand up, glaring against the wind. If he kept himself stooped low, he could avoid most of the wind drag and stand comfortably. Peering back through the hatch, he looked down to snowglobe. "Yeah?"

"Please don't die." She gave him a sort of half-grin. "It may not seem like it, but we need you."

Sunny gulped. "Right..." Only now was the fear getting to him, now that he'd put himself and the others into danger.

There was a loud, angry screech from behind him and he ducked just in time for a pair of talons to go whizzing over his head. Sweet Celestia... it was a griffon. Sunny couldn't believe his eyes even as he stood up and sighted the creature in. A griffon zombie!? He'd heard Moon talk about them, but this was the first time he'd ever gotten to see one.

One bullet was all it took. He'd missed what he was aiming for, but instead struck the thing's wing. The massive griffon screeched and howled as it fell towards the ground, its limp wing trailing behind.

There was hardly time to stop and think. The pullers had done good; the two skywagons were no more than fifty feet apart in the air now, flying at the same level. From here he could see the ponies in the other wagon. He could see Candy standing near the front, the barrels of both carbines on her battle saddle smoking as she watched for more of the infected. Brick stood just behind her, firing the machine gun mounted to his back with short and precise bursts. Range and Yew worked as one—a terrifying sight to anypony who hadn't seen them work before. The combination of these four ponies were enough to keep back at least fifty of their assailants, but there were a lot more than fifty.

Half the windows on their wagon were already shattered or had a dozen bullet holes in them. In all reality, skywagons weren't meant to be attacked in the air. There was no good way to defend them.

Sunny looked no more. It was time to act. Gritting his teeth against the wind, he stalked his way to the front of the wagon and took stance right at the very edge, grasping a strap designed to tie down luggage and wrapping it three times around his hoof to hold him on spot.

He was fast and lethal with the carbine. A pegasus tried to land on the roof of the other wagon but he shot it down before it could. The beast let out a cry and fell to the side, smacking against the aluminum roof before rolling off the side to be taken by the wind. Down went another that was heading for the pulling team, and a third that was clinging to the bottom of the wagon.

For just a second, Sunny caught Candy's eye. The white mare stood stiff, looking out at him with a disbelieving gape. After a moment, she stood up a little straighter and gave him a quick salute.

Sunny didn't have time to return the gesture. He sidestepped a pegasus diving for him and blasted it with the shotgun as it flew by. Blood splattered his face and misted his eyes and mouth, warm and foul-smelling, but he blinked it away and searched for the next target.

There were too many. The skies were cloudy with the flying bastards.

"Bring us in alongside the other wagon!" Sunny bellowed, leaning over the front of the wagon to address the pulling team. A nod from the mare was Sunny's only answer before he went back to scanning the skies. Something thudded down on the rooftop behind him and he turned in time to blast a pegasus mare away before she could even get all four hooves down.

Another head popped up from the hatch. The dirty yellow stallion grunted and heaved as he pulled his large body onto the roof, a fresh cigar held firmly between his teeth as the wind bit at the ignited tip, flaring it up like the end of a blowtorch.

"What're you doing!?" Sunny couldn't even find the time to look at the stallion as he spun this way and that, the rifle on his back discharging with terrifying accuracy.

"Figured you could use a hoof up here." Loco slammed the hatch closed once he was up and took stance on his two hind legs. Using his forehooves, he pulled his shotgun from its sheath and held it out before him. "I got your back. Keep an eye out ahead an' don't let any of those fuckin' corpses get on the other wagon!"

"What about your end!?" Sunny yelled into the wind, looking out ahead and firing off a few more shots from the carbine. A dead pegasus fell directly into the path of their wagon and smashed against the windscreen, shattering the plexiglass and sending a deep shudder across the wagon's frame.

"I'm faster than I look!"

He could hear Brick's gun chattering over the rush of the wind, and while it packed power and speed, it still didn't do much for the countless swarms of pegasus ponies that besieged the wagons.

Sunny looked out ahead, and what he saw next scared him more than anything. Willow was on the roof of the other wagon. She wore no barding and carried no weapons, but she fought with more force than he'd ever seen from a pony. She spun this way and that, kicking and battering at anything that came near. She hopped nimbly to the side as a pegasus dived at her and kicked it in the ribs with both hind legs as it shot past. The zombie screeched as is ribs splintered and snapped and went spiraling away on the wind.

Another landed on the roof before her, attempting to fight its way forward through the wind. Willow jumped and brought herself down on top of it, all four hooves converging on the pony's skull and crushing it into the roof. She kicked the twitching zombie aside before rearing up to meet the next one before it could even land. Both forehooves fastened on its shoulders and slammed it down onto the skywagon with such force that it shattered the windows below. In one fluid motion, Willow fastened her teeth in its mane and pulled. Something snapped and that was it.

She turned just in time to meet the griffon that had dived at her with a screech. The creature's superior mass and speed won over and Willow went skidding across the roof on her back, stopping a few feet from the edge. She held her forehooves on the griffon's chest, just barely managing to keep its snapping beak away from her face.

Sunny took a moment to aim. He was only twenty feet away now. Right as Willow heaved, he fired. The shot missed its primary target, but shattered the creature's beak nonetheless. It threw its head back and screeched, but Willow's forehoof silenced it as it smashed what was left of its beak back into its own head. With a gargled cry, it spasmed and went limp.

Panting, Willow kicked the limp body off her and picked herself up, turning to Sunny as their wagons pulled up alongside each other. "About time you stopped by!"

Sunny laughed, even as he reduced a small flock of pegasi to pulp with four bursts from Moon's shotgun. "What, you thought I forgot about you?"

Willow blinked, then lowered her head for a second. "...I didn't think you'd come." Quickly, she perked back up. She glared at Sunny for a second, then sprang over to his wagon, clearing the three foot gap between the two skywagons with ease. "Sunny, what in Celestia's name are you doing here!? There's too many of them. You could have split for the prison while we had them occupied!"

Sunny shook his head. "That's not how things work, Willow."

The white mare fixed her crimson eyes on Sunny's. They shimmered, though he wasn't sure if that was just the windburn. "I knew you'd stay, Sunny."

"Cover me while I reload back here!"

Sunny spun on his rear hoof and turned to Loco. The stallion stood on three hooves, cradling his weapon in his armpit while he used the other hoof to load new shells into the breach. His cigar had snapped, but still hung on by a shred of the paper. "How're you doing?"

Loco glanced up for a second. "Shit's going south! Whatever ya' do, don't look behind us!" He went cross eyed as he glared down at the broken cigar. With a roll of his eyes, he tore the broken half free and pressed the red-hot barrel of his shotgun to the end the cigar, puffing a few times as it reignited. "Fuckers made me waste half a' damned quality cigar."

Sunny blinked, then glanced up, looking at the skies behind the two wagons. "No..." What he was looking at wasn't a flock or two of pegasi... it was hundreds. Hundreds upon hundreds of pegasi and griffons clouded the sky. "F-faster," he muttered, staggering backwards until his rear hooves reached the front of the roof. "We have to go faster." He turned to look down at the four pullers. "Faster! They're right behind us! Give it everything you've got! Come on!"

"Sunny!" Willow grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to face her. "We can't outrun them!"

Sunny shook her off and pointed towards the other skywagon. "Willow, get back over there and balance the weight!"

She gave him a long stare. "Sunny, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry what?" Sunny watched as Willow jumped back over to her wagon. "Sorry for what!? Willow, damnit!" She gave him one last look before hopping down through the hatch. "Sorry for what!?"

Sunny didn't have any more time to watch her. Quickly, he turned and started to pick off anything that got too close. He went through the rest of his magazine in five seconds, and by the time he'd slotted a new one, a dozen or so fliers were already nearing them. With Loco handling the ones that dived from above, Sunny took up a firm stance. He had to make every bullet count, and even then it wasn't going to be enough.

He went through three magazines in less than a minute, but already they were overtaking him. The skies rained pegasi behind the two wagons, but whenever one fell, it seemed that there were two more to take its place. Soon enough, the rifle was forgotten as Sunny tried to make the last twelve or so rounds in the shotgun count. The others fired from the windows, picking off anything that landed on the wagons, but it still wasn't enough.

This game was about to end. All it would take was one of the fliers to take a bite of any of the wagon pullers and they'd lose their speed, then it would be a buffet.

Sunny looked over in time to see Candy and Willow exchanging fast and tense words. The wind in his ears drowned the two out, but they were yelling over something. After a moment, Candy closed her eyes and nodded, jaw trembling as she stepped out of the way. Willow moved towards the front of the cabin and hit a small button on the console, lips moving as she spoke to the fliers. Sunny watched as, one by one, the ponies pulling the other wagon tensed. They exchanged glances with each other, muttering worriedly.

Suddenly, one of the lead ponies disengaged themselves from the harness and rocketed forward. The others did the very last thing Sunny would have ever expected.

They went down.

Sunny screamed as the other skywagon banked left and started towards the treetops. he bolted to the edge of the wagon and flared his wings. He could still catch them at this distance. It would be hard, but he could.

A strong pair of hooves wrapped around him from behind. Sunny yelled and bucked, screaming profanities as Loco drug him backwards. "There ain't nothin' you can do!" the old stallion yelled, dragging Sunny towards the hatch in the roof. "They did that so we'd make it! Now take the chance!"

Tears ran from his eyes as he watched the other wagon streak away. It banked around and leveled out, heading against the horde of zombies giving chase. The wagon was swarmed in seconds. The steel shell jerked and rolled, then started to drop.

Sunny didn't move as Loco lowered him down through the roof and into the cabin. The knot in his throat made it impossible for him to swallow and near impossible to breathe. "No! We can't just leave them!"

Loco shook his head. None of the others spoke, only watched as the silver shape in the distance spiraled towards the treetops. The infected didn't even seem to care about the escaping skywagon. There were ten ponies to be had.

"Yes, you heard me." Willow hesitated for a moment, her hoof lingering on the button. "It's either everyone, or just us! They've got more ponies on that wagon and they've got Sunny." She was talking, not only to the fliers, but to the other five ponies aboard the skywagon. "Say what you want, that pegasus is more important than any of us. Now, I'm not going to tell you again." She glared out the windscreen at the four pullers. "Turn us around!"

There was some bickering amongst them, shouts of worry and cries of anger. The mare at the front right shook her head and reached back, unclipping the buckle on her harness. "I-I'm sorry, but I didn't sign up for this!" The others yelled for her, but before anypony could stop her, she was gone, flying out ahead of the wagon.

Candy moved up beside Willow and pounded the console. "We're losing airspeed!"

"Well then," said an old stallion, glancing to the mare that flew beside him and shrugging his shoulders. "I guess that's it."

The mare looked back and chuckled. "Give 'em hell, eh?"

"Oooha!" cried the a midnight blue mare in the front. "I knew one day I'd have to go but I never thought it'd be like this... Son of a bitch." With a powerful flap of her wings, she angled her body and steered them down, the others following in her wake as the wagon pitched forward. Immediately, the speed and momentum stacked up. "What do you say we give that other wagon as much time as possible!?" The mare rolled and banked to the side, guiding them around in a loop that turned the wounded skywagon directly against the flow of infected.

Willow braced herself against a support as they flew against the horde. It was like watching rain fall towards the ground, only the raindrops were a lot less pretty and a lot more deadly. One body after another smashed against the windscreen as the infected banked to attack the wagon, sending spiderwebs of cracks and blood across the plexiglass.

"Come on!" the mare in the lead screamed, dropping her shoulder and hammering a pegasus out of the way, using her entire body to propel the wagon forward. Her voice overloaded the mic and crackled over the onboard intercom, but there was no hiding the fear in it. "COme on, you fuckers! IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT!?"

The wagon shook and rattled as more ponies hammered against the outside, denting the frame and trying to pull themselves through the windows. Willow sat in the middle, breath tight in her chest as she watched the endless horde suicide themselves against the wagon.

"I'm going to disengage," the stallion said in a panic. "I'm going to disengage. I can't. I can't do this. I don't want to—"

"It's okay, Sor," came the comforting voice of the mare who flew beside him. "You're with me. This may be it, but it won't be for us."

Shaking her head, Willow looked back at the others. Brick stood in the aisle, his eyes neutral as he looked back at her. Shattered glass and torn feathers flew all around him, though the stallion hardly moved. His eyes remained on Willow, and he smiled. Choking back a sob, Willow threw herself forward and wrapped her forehooves around him. There was nothing else to do.

Candy backed away from the crippled windscreen and found Cotton. She took the mare's hoof in her own and sat back. "Not like this. Not here." Cotton clung to the mare like a drowning pony clung to a life preserver, whimpering.

Range and Yew sat at the back of the wagon. Neither of the two spoke. They simply sat by each other as the skywagon weaved jerked. Range's eyes were constantly darting about, posture tense, but Yew only hung her head.

"I can't keep this up!" the lead mare yelled, choking on her own words as her vocals found their way into her breathing. Every inhale was a groan and every exhale brought forth a growl of exertion. She weaved and ducked, dodging one target after another. One pegasus swooped by above her back and fastened its teeth in her neck, but she bucked it off and shook its jaws out of her neck. The pegasus fell, taking a strip of flesh with it. The mare didn't seem to care. Instead, she angled her wings and steepened the dive, bringing them into a spiral that threw off those clinging to the windows.

Infected were starting to group up near the windows now, flying as one to try and cling onto the side of the crippled wagon. As one, they attacked from the side. The mare on the right that flew beside the stallion screamed as a pegasus landed clean on her back. She bucked and writhed in the harness, but it wasn't getting her anywhere. Willow could only watch as the zombie on her back lunged and fastened its teeth in her neck. It pulled and growled and jerked, and after a moment of this the mare's spine gave with a meaty pop and she went limp in the harness. The stallion beside her screamed and threw himself to the right, knocking the zombie off the mare, crying and screaming at the same time as he tried to keep his wings moving.

He didn't last. A griffon got ahold of him before he could do so much as cry out in surprise. In less than a second, he'd been pulled free of the harness and was gone, carried off by the feathered hybrid.

It was only the lead mare now, her midnight blue coat stained with her own blood as she steered them towards the treeline. Infected flew on every side of her, snapping at her forelegs and her wings, but she fought back, lashing out with every chance she got, battering away more beasts than the air had a right to hold.

Willow braced herself as the ground came looming towards her. They were in a near-vertical dive by this point, the wind buffeting her ears as it whistled past the window. The only thing keeping her from falling forward and onto the windscreen was Brick's firm grasp. He'd wrapped one hoof around a support and the other around her.

The wagon shook and rattled as the wind buffeted at the lightweight frame. The steel groaned and creaked, and what few intact windows that remained were beginning to crack and shatter as the skywagon shook itself apart.

The intercom buzzed again, carrying the blue mare's voice over the cabin for the last time. "This is Private Streakwing!" She cackled, her voice broken and loaded with more fear than a pony deserved to ever feel. She flared her wings to their fullest extent and angled her body upwards, attempting to do the job of four and pull the wagon out of a dive. "And I just wanted to say..." Her voice was heavy, strained. From here, Willow could see the tendons standing out on the mare's neck, her brilliant wings shedding feathers in the turbulence. "Wanted to say... I'm still here! Heh... Fuckers haven't killed me yet!" Then she screamed; it a scream of everything—rage, hate, fear, sadness, everything combined into one, blood-chilling cry.

The skywagon hurtled into the treeline at vision-blurring speeds, ripping through tree limbs and branches as Streak led them with unbelievable agility between towering oaks and greens. Streak kept on screaming, even as her mic overloaded and cut out, she kept on screaming. Her wings shed feathers by the dozens, primaries and secondaries tearing free of the flesh as she pushed her body past the point of no return.

One last, powerful flap was all it took to level the wagon out. Streak hovered in the harness for a second before her wings trembled and snapped backwards, folding against her sides with an agonized cry of pain from the mare that didn't need to travel over the intercom to be heard.

The infected couldn't handle the foliage at such speeds; they'd fallen back, far back, and those brave enough to try and keep up ended up skewered on branches or crushed against tree trunks.

The skywagon was nothing but a stone now, hurled from the sky and falling rapidly towards the ground on its own terminal velocity. The skids hit the forest floor and Willow slammed down to the floor of the skywagon. Trees tore by at light speed, branches snapped, ponies screamed.

Grunting, Willow heaved herself to her hooves just in time to look ahead. The trunk of a mighty oak glared back, standing strong and true in their path. There was no stopping. There was no dodging.

Willow found Brick and clung to him. She took a deep breath, and in that breath everything went silent, just for a second. Sunny would be okay, and that's all that mattered. The pegasus had had the right idea; maybe he could help them fix this—meet up with some scientists or something and help them with a cure. He had the blood for it. He had to be the key.

The wagon met with the tree much too soon. The oak couldn't even be humored with the thought of sparing a single inch. The front end of the skywagon came to a complete stop, folding up like an accordion, while the back end continued to auger the front end against the unforgiving bark.

The wagon may have stopped, but Willow didn't. She closed her eyes as the cold, hard bark came rushing up to meet her.


	22. mistakes in leadership

p class="indented" style="margin:  
0px; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-size:  
18px; font-family: serif; text-indent: 3em; color: #333333;  
line-height: 31.68000030517578px; text-align: justify;"The world was a blur of colors, spots of black and red and green and blue all churning together like food coloring in a mixing bowl. The more Willow tried to make sense of it the more the confusing display swirled to a dirty brown. Try as she might, her eyes wouldn't open;  
maybe it was the pain, or maybe it was the sticky crud gluing her eyelashes together. Nonetheless, nothing felt good./p 


End file.
